The joint parliament session, overseen by Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Amir Farooq, marked a significant political milestone with Zardari clinching a second term as the nation’s top official. The electoral process, meticulously democratic, encompassed voting across the Senate, National Assembly, and provincial assemblies.
Senator Sherry Rehman, representing the Pakistan Peoples Party, acted as Asif Ali Zardari’s polling agent, while Senator Shafique Tareen fulfilled the same duty for Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the candidate of the Sunni Ittehad Council, a party primarily consisting of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers.
Combining results from the Senate and National Assembly, Zardari secured 255 votes compared to Achakzai’s 119.
In the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Achakzai garnered 91 votes, while Zardari received 17.
Zardari amassed 246 votes in the Punjab Assembly, while Achakzai trailed with 100 votes.
Results from the Sindh Assembly favored Zardari with 151 votes against Achakzai’s 9.
Notably, Zardari secured 47 votes from the Balochistan Assembly, while Achakzai failed to secure any.
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the ruling coalition’s candidate garnered 411 votes, while the PTI-backed candidate received 181 votes from the Electoral College.
Earlier, the ECP turned down Mahmood Khan Achakzai’s request to postpone the elections, citing his failure to raise objections during the nomination paper submission and scrutiny phase. The Electoral College was deemed fully operational to proceed with the polls.
This development followed the endorsement of Asif Ali Zardari’s candidacy for the presidency by the ruling coalition, comprising the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) among other allies. This endorsement underscored a broader political consensus within the ruling coalition regarding Zardari’s leadership.
