Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), was elected as Pakistan’s new president by lawmakers on Saturday, marking his ascent to the country’s highest but largely ceremonial position as its 14th leader.
At 68, the widower of former two-time Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and nominee of the ruling coalition, Zardari secured victory over Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a seasoned politician from Balochistan province and opposition candidate from the Sunni Ittehad Council. This council is a religio-political organization recently allied with legislators from the imprisoned ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
The election saw a boycott from minor political factions such as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F) and Jamaat-e-Islami, with none of their MPs participating in the vote.
Commencing at 10 a.m. local time at the National Assembly in Islamabad and in all four provincial capitals, the voting concluded at 4 p.m.
This election marks Zardari’s historic return to the presidency, making him the only politician to be elected to this top yet symbolic office for a second term, following his initial tenure from 2008 to 2013 during his party’s government.–Web Desk