Pakistan's ruling coalition is moving to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, officials confirmed Thursday.
The decision was announced following two days of talks between the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the PML-N -- the two parties that defeated Musharraf's party in February parliamentary elections.
The PPP's Asif Ali Zardari said Thursday that the decision was "good news for democracy" in Pakistan.
According to Pakistan's constitution, a ruling president could be ousted if an impeachment motion is passed with a two-thirds majority support of lawmakers in both houses of Parliament.
The coalition has a strong majority in the National Assembly but Musharraf's supporters do hold about half of the seats in the Senate.
Musharraf loyalists claim the coalition will struggle to attain the support needed to pass the motion. However, Zardari was confident Thursday saying the coalition was hoping "that 90 percent of the lawmakers will support us."
"The coalition... decided that it will immediately initiate impeachment proceedings. The coalition leadership will present a charge sheet against Gen. Musharraf," Zardari told reporters Thursday.
Musharraf, a strong U.S. ally, has so far resisted calls to step down as president, although he did hand over power of the army last year.
"The incompetence and the failure of his (Musharraf) policies has thrown the country into the worst power shortage in its history. His policies have weakened the federation and eroded the trust of the nation in national institutions," Zardari said.
The PPP, once led by slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and the PML-N joined together in March and have since been debating Musharraf's future and how to reinstate judges he had removed.
Zardari said Musharraf failed to follow through on a "clear commitment" he made to resign if his party lost in the February elections. Musharraf also failed to honour an indirect pledge to seek a vote of confidence from the new Parliament, he said.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday that Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani will attend the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics instead of Musharraf.
Musharraf does have the power to dissolve parliament but, because of his unpopularity, such a move would be highly controversial.
With files from The Associated Press
