Islamabad/Lahore: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari was elected the 14th President of the country on Saturday. Zardari, 68, was the joint candidate of PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), while his rival Mahmood Khan Achakzai was the candidate of Sunni Ittehad Council. Zardari got 255 votes, while his rival got 119 votes. Zardari has been elected President for the second time.
Before this he was the President from 2008 to 2013. Zardari is the first civilian to be elected president for the second time. According to the provisions of the Constitution, the President is elected by an electoral college of newly elected members of the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies. In the Sindh Assembly, where Zardari’s PPP is in power, he received the most votes, while he also received all the votes in the Balochistan Assembly.
He also defeated Achakzai in the Punjab Assembly. In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, where the Sunni Ittehad Council/Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party is in power, Achakzai received the highest number of votes against Zardari. Businessman-turned-political leader Zardari is the husband of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Zardari will replace current President Dr Arif Alvi, whose five-year term ended last year