Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party, on March 9th, secured victory as Pakistan’s 14th President, marking his second term as head of state. Zardari, aged 68, ran as the joint candidate of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), while his rival Mahmood Khan Achakzai, aged 75, represented the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
In the electoral process conducted in the National Assembly and the Senate, Zardari garnered 255 votes, surpassing his opponent who received 119 votes. The election followed the constitutional provision whereby the newly elected members of the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies comprised the electoral college.
Zardari secured a significant majority in the Sindh Assembly, where the PPP holds authority, as well as in the Balochistan Assembly, winning all votes cast there. He also outperformed Achakzai in the Punjab assembly.
However, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly, where the SIC/PTI holds power, Achakzai received the majority of votes against Zardari.
A former businessman turned politician, Zardari is the widower of the late Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. His victory in the presidential election signifies his return to the presidency, previously serving from 2008 to 2013. Zardari’s second term marks him as the first civilian to be elected twice as president. He is anticipated to be sworn in 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 supported by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf joined its ranks.
