Islamabad – Seasoned politician Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has been elected as country’s president for the second time.
PPP leader amassed 246 votes while SIC and PTI-backed Mahmood Achakzai got 119 votes.
Breakdown of votes from National Assembly, Senate, and provincial legislature:
- Zardari got 255 votes in the National Assembly and Senate, while Achakzai got 119 votes.
- In Punjab Assembly, PPP leader secured 246 votes, compared to Achakzai’s 100 votes.
- In KP Assembly, Mahmood Achakzai received 91 votes, while Zardari got 17 votes
- In the Balochistan Assembly, Zardari received 47 votes, and Achakzai did not receive any votes.
- In the Sindh Assembly, Zardari received 151 votes, and the SIC candidate received only nine votes
Asif Zardari Achakzai NA/Senate 255 119 Punjab 246 100 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 17 91 Balochistan 47 0 Sindh 151 9
Voting took place from 10 am to 4pm without a break, and the counting of votes began at 4pm.
The election for the top spot takes place a month after Pakistan’s February 8 elections and a week following the re-election of Shehbaz Sharif from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) as prime minister.
The National Assembly, Senate, and the four provincial assemblies collectively make up the electoral college for the presidential vote, which occurs every five years.
Asif Zardari
Asif Ali Zardari is a veteran politician of fifth most populated nation who has been elected as President for second time. He previously served as President of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013.
Son of Hakim Ali Zardari was born on July 26, 1955, in Karachi, Pakistan. He is a prominent member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a political party founded by his late wife, Benazir Bhutto, and her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
Zardari started politics in 80s and held various positions within the PPP. He married Benazir in 1987 and played a key role in her political career. After Benazir’s assassination in 2007, Zardari became the co-chairman of the PPP.
The next year, he was elected President of Pakistan following the resignation of former President Pervez Musharraf. His presidency was marked by political and economic challenges, including issues related to terrorism, corruption, and governance.
Zardari’s tenure ended in 2013, and he has since remained active in Pakistani politics as a senior leader of the PPP. He has faced various legal challenges, including corruption allegations, which he has denied. Despite his controversies, Zardari remains a significant figure in Pakistani politics.