ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, the ruling alliance’s joint candidate, was elected president for the second time after defeating PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) nominee Mahmood Khan Achakzai by a large majority.
Zardari won 411 electoral votes in parliament and all four provincial assemblies on Saturday, thanks to the support of partner parties, most notably the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan.
Ackakzai received 181 votes, but he was only able to obtain a majority of votes in the PTI-backed SIC-dominated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Zardari, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui of the MQM-P, and Farooq Sattar are among the prominent parliamentarians who voted in the National Assembly.
PTI leaders Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Asad Qaiser, and Achakzai, among others, voted in the presidential election.
To uphold democratic traditions, Zardari met with his competitor candidate Achakzai in the House.
Asif Ali Zardari
Qazi Faez Isa, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), will administer the oath to President-elect Zardari at 4 p.m. today (Sunday) at the President House.
381 out of 398 members cast ballots in both chambers of parliament, while 17 lawmakers from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Jamat-e-Islami (JI), PTI, and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) did not vote in the presidential election for various reasons.
The JUI-F, JI, and GDA have announced a boycott of the presidential elections, while PTI senators Shibli Faraz, Ijaz Chaudhry, and Azam Swati also did not participate in the voting.
