Asif Ali Zardari elected as 14th president of Pakistan

Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, has been elected the 14th president of the country, defeating Mahmood Khan Achakzai of the Sunni Ittehad Council.

The counting of the votes for the 14th president of the country began after the polls closed at 4 pm. Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq presided over the joint session of the Parliament.

PPP's Asif Ali Zardari was nominated for the presidential position by the newly elected coalition government.

It is noteworthy that Zardari has been elected to a second term as president of Pakistan by an overwhelming majority.

In the Punjab Assembly Asif Ali Zardari received 246 while Mahmood Khan Achakzai received 100 votes.

PPP's leader received 151 votes in the Sindh Assembly, while Mahmood Khan Achakzai received just 9.

Mahmood Khan Achakzai defeated Asif Ali Zardari in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly with 91 votes. Zardari received Just 17 votes in the provincial assembly.

In the Balochistan legislature, the coalition government candidate received 47 votes while his opponent received none.

The PPP co-chairman faced off against Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the chairman of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, who has the support of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).

Whereas Zardari was backed by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), the Awami National Party (ANP), the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), and other parties.

Earlier, Zardari reached the Parliament House to cast his vote. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and PML-N leader Ishaq Dar also cast their votes.

How the president is elected

The president is elected by an electoral college comprising members of the Senate, the National Assembly, and the four provincial assemblies.

A joint session of the parliament will be held at the parliament house in Islamabad today in which the members of the NA and the Senate will exercise their right to vote through a secret ballot.

Achakzai urges ECP to postpone presidential election

On Friday, Achakzai wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja that holding this election without completion of electoral college would be “illegal, unlawful and against the spirit of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan”.

He demanded that the poll be postponed till the completion of Electoral College.

In his letter to CEC, Achakzai stated that the Electoral College prescribed by law and Constitution for the election of the President of Pakistan, was still incomplete, as there were some reserved seats in the National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies, which were still vacant.

“As yet, no one was elected on those reserved seats and without nominations and proper election on these seats, if the presidential election is conducted as per the schedule, that would be denial of their votes, which otherwise, is against the fundamental rights, law and Constitution,” Achakzai contended in the letter.