HT Digital,
Islamabad, March 9: Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party, clinched victory as Pakistan’s 14th President, marking his second term in office. Zardari stood as the joint candidate for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
He competed against Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who represented the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC). Securing 255 votes, Zardari emerged triumphant over his opponent, who garnered 119 votes from the National Assembly and the Senate.
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Elected by the electoral college comprising newly elected members of the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies, Zardari’s victory followed constitutional procedures.
Notably, Zardari dominated the vote count in the Sindh Assembly, where the PPP holds sway, as well as in the Balochistan Assembly, securing a clean sweep of all votes cast. In the Punjab assembly, he also outperformed Achakzai. However, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly, where the SIC/PTI alliance governs, Achakzai secured the majority of votes against Zardari.
A former businessman who transitioned into politics, Zardari is the widower of the late Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Zardari is poised to succeed Dr. Arif Alvi, whose five-year term ended last year but has continued until the formation of the new electoral college. Having previously served as president from 2008 to 2013, Zardari will notably be the first civilian to be re-elected to the presidency.
His inauguration is expected to take place on Sunday. Achakzai, the leader of the Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), contested under the banner of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), which gained prominence after independent candidates aligned with Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf joined its ranks.
