ISLAMABAD: Polling for the presidential elections to elect the 14th President of Pakistan for next five years is underway in national and provincial assemblies and Senate which will continue till 4 pm.
Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the chairman of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), are vying for the prestigious office.
The first vote for the presidential election was polled by Amer Talal while Abdul Aleem Khan cast the second vote. Two polling booths and two counters have been set up in the National Assembly for voting process.
Former president Asif Ali Zardari, a joint candidate of Pakistan People’s Party, PML-N, MQM-P and other coalition parties is contesting the presidential election against Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP) chief Mahmood Achakzai, the candidate of the Sunni Ittehad Council.
Sherry Rehman will act as polling agent for Asif Ali Zardari while Senator Sardar Shafique will be the polling agent for Mahmood Khan Achakzai. Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq is acting as presding officer for the election.
Lawmakers across the country in the Senate, National as well as the four provincial assemblies are set to cast their votes for the election of the 14th president of the country. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has finalized all preliminary arrangements for the process, which is set to commence at 10am and conclude at 4pm.
PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari, the joint presidential candidate of the PML-N, PPP, and other allied parties in the coalition government, stands poised to potentially secure his second term as president if successful in this election. He faces competition from Pakhtunkhwa Mili Awami Party President Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who is the joint candidate representing the opposition.
The respective houses of parliament have been declared the polling stations where the election is set to be held through a secret ballot. The Parliament House in Islamabad would cater to senators and MNAs, while the four provincial assemblies would take on the role of polling stations for the respective provincial lawmakers.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 118 members of the provincial assembly will exercise their voting rights. The Sunni Ittehad Council has 89 members, JUI-F nine, PML-N eight, PPP five, PTI-P two and ANP one. Four independent members are also part of the provincial House.
In the Punjab Assembly, election commission member Nisar Durrani has been appointed as the presiding officer for the presidential election, for which 400 ballot papers have been printed.
Moreover, the Sindh High Court chief justice has been appointed as the presiding officer during the polling process. There are 163 members in the provincial house of 168. Asif Ali Zardari is expected to get 45.66 votes from the PPP lawmakers in the electoral college of the Sindh Assembly.
The PPP has a huge majority of 116 members in the Sindh Assembly, followed by the MQM’s 36 members. Under the presidential election procedure, 2.54 members of the assembly are equal to one vote. The MQM has also decided to vote for Zardari.
In the Balochistan Assembly also, the PPP, PML-N, National Party, BAP and BNP have all decided to vote for Asif Zardari. Moreover, the Jamaat-e-Islami and Haq Do Tehreek have also announced their support for Zardari.
However, the BNP-Awami has decided to boycott the presidential election, while the stance of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam is unclear.
However, the atmosphere is tense, with strict security measures implemented across the Red Zone of Islamabad. Section 144 has been imposed citywide, underscoring the gravity of the situation. Over 600 police personnel have been deployed to ensure the smooth conduct of the electoral process, with strict regulations in place to restrict unauthorized access to the parliament premises. Only individuals possessing valid passes will be permitted entry into the designated areas.
Read more: Asif Zardari is our presidential candidate: Maryam Nawaz
