Islamabad, Pakistan ? President Pervez Musharraf announced Sunday that parliamentary elections would take place in early January but indicated that they would be conducted under emergency rule and a suspended constitution, raising questions about their legitimacy.

At his first major news conference in months, Musharraf attempted to justify his declaration of a state of emergency eight days earlier, an action that plunged the nuclear-armed country into more turmoil. He gave no date for ending the emergency, which he called the most difficult decision he has made in his life.

“I have no personal ego and ambitions to guard,” he said. “I have the national interest foremost.”

Musharraf’s news conference came a day after he amended a law to give military courts sweeping powers to try civilians for speaking poorly about him or the army.

Musharraf blamed the emergency on both a combative judiciary and Islamic militants. But since Nov. 3, his government has focused its resources on arresting thousands of lawyers, political opponents and human rights activists and cracking down on the judiciary and the media.

Musharraf also said he would step down as army chief before being sworn in for another presidential term, as soon as the Supreme Court rules on a case challenging whether he was eligible to win election last month. Because he sacked most judges who would not sign a new oath to him, it’s likely the new court will rule in his favor in the coming days.

“I shall take (the) oath of office as civilian president of Pakistan,” said Musharraf, dressed in a navy blue suit and tie instead of his army uniform. “And I hope that happens as soon as possible.”

His two announcements – that elections would be held before Jan. 9 and that he would step down as army chief – may soften the criticism from Western leaders, who have urged Musharraf to restore the constitution, hold elections before Jan. 15 as scheduled and step down as army chief.

Musharraf also addressed a major concern in the West by saying that the state of emergency would allow him to send in the army to tackle militants whenever and wherever he wanted, as opposed to having to get the permission of local governments in Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal areas.