Backed by PML-N, PPP Asif Ali Zardari and SIC’s Mahmood Khan Achakzai vying for office of President n Maryam Nawaz, Bilawal Bhutto address joint parliamentary party meeting in Lahore n Maryam assures Bilawal her PML-N party will vote for Asif Ali Zardari n Says it is to move towards reconciliation n Bilawal greets Maryam on becoming Punjab CM n PPP leader calls for overcoming polarisation within society.
LAHORE/ISLAMABAD - Presidential elections will be held today to elect the 14th President of Pakistan for next five years. Asif Ali Zardari, the joint candidate of PPP and the PML-N, and Sunni Ittehad Council’s candidate Mahmood Khan Achakzai are vying for the office of President. The President is elected by an electoral college comprising members of the Senate, National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies. Voting is held through a secret ballot.
A joint session of the Parliament will be held at the Parliament House in Islamabad in which the members of National Assembly and the Senate will exercise their right to vote. Similarly, the provincial assemblies will hold their sessions tomorrow for the election. Polling will begin at 10:00 am and continue till 4:00 pm. The Punjab Assembly members will exercise their right to vote for the election of the new president.
Under the 6.1 formula, the Punjab Assembly has 54 presidential votes. Out of these, Asif Ali Zardari is expected to get 36 votes whereas his rival Mahmood Khan Achakzai is expected to obtain 18 votes based on the respective numerical strengths of the Treasury and the Opposition. Meanwhile, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari reached Lahore on Friday for canvassing on behalf of his father Asif Ali Zardari who is a candidate for election of the president. He addressed the parliamentary party of the PML-N and allied parties at the Governor House along with Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif as the two leaders exchanged pleasantries and good wishes.
Bilawal extended his greetings to Maryam Nawaz upon assuming the role of Punjab Chief Minister. He also underscored the need to overcome polarisation within society to progress collectively. He expressed hope that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the President would collaborate effectively to address all existing challenges facing the country.
The PPP chairman thanked CM Maryam Nawaz and others for showing their complete support. Bilawal Bhutto stated that Asif Ali Zardari deals affectionately with him and with all the political parties. “My father takes care of everyone else as much as he takes care of me”, Bilawal observed.
He hoped that the Ramazan relief package announced by the Punjab government would greatly benefit the impoverished people of the province.
PML-Q leader Ch Shafay Hussain, IPP’s Ghazanfar Abbas Cheema, Zia League’s Ch. Ghulam Murtaza and other members participated in the parliamentary party meeting. Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif assured Bilawal that the PML-N legislators would vote for Asif Ali Zardari as he was the joint candidate of the PPP and the PML-N. “We would have voted for Asif Ali Zardari even if Bilawal had not come to seek support from the PML-N”, she remarked.
She urged all assembly members to come to cast their votes according to the party discipline. “Asif Ali Zardari’s assumption that the office of the Awan-e-Sadar is welcoming as the arrival of a political personality will prove to be fruitful. Asif Ali Zardari’s relationship and meetings are above political affiliations. We have good relations with Asif Ali Zardari”, she observed. Maryam Nawaz thanked Allah Almighty for ridding the nation from the violator of the constitution. Without naming incumbent President Dr Arif Alvi, Maryam said: “The nation will remember the one violating the constitution by assuming the constitutional position. The nation will not remember the one departing from the Awan-e-Sadar in good words.” Talking about the constitutional role of a president, she said the President facilitates the government so that the country can be run smoothly. She said it was not appreciable for a president to refrain from performing his constitutional duty just because he did not like a particular political party in the government.
Maryam Nawaz stated that it was time to get rid of the prevailing crisis and move towards reconciliation. Referring to the PTI backed social media, Maryam said: “The cartoon network running all the time in Pakistan should be shut down. Bickering and fights should not occur after the elections”. She said those deprived of bread and butter were awaiting our attention. She further stated that it was the democratic requirement and practice to talk by remaining within the limits of morality and decency.
The chief minister stated that it was time to work in tandem irrespective of personal interests as the problems are so much aggravated that no political party could resolve them on its own.
“The common agenda of PML-N, PPP, PML-Q, IPP and Zia League is to rid the country out of crisis”, she remarked. Later, Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto met with the Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz. CM welcomed Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto on his arrival. Chairman PPP felicitated Maryam Nawaz for assuming the office of Chief Minister Punjab. Matters pertaining to adopting a joint strategy in the Presidential election also came under discussion. Addressing the parliamentary party meeting, Maryam said Punjab Assembly was now dominated by the women. “It is my message for all the women that I am the Chief Minister of everyone and urge everyone to come forward and play their due role for the progress and prosperity of our country”, she said.
Paying tributes to women leaders on the International Day of Women, she said:” Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah and Benazir Bhutto Shaheed are our ideal women. Benazir Bhutto Shaheed holds the distinction of becoming the first Prime Minister of the Islamic world. I only met Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto for once and its pleasant effects can be felt even up till now. I remember my mother a lot on the International Women’s Day as she was a brave lady. The love and guidance of my mother is a beacon light for me in the shape of a manual. It is not easy for a woman to run a house and establish her identity by getting out of her house. The dignity of a woman getting out of her house for the attainment of a higher goal is praiseworthy”.
PPP supremo Asif Ali Zardari will be the first civilian to be elected as the President for a second term after the presidential elections today (March 9) – which he is expected to win comfortably. Zardari previously served as the President from 2008 to 2013. Yesterday, PPP chairman hosted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and allies at a dinner ahead of the presidential polls. The PM and other allies vowed to vote for Zardari and elect him to the post for a second time.
Dr Arif Alvi, the current president whose five-year term ended last year, has continued in office pending the formation of the new electoral college. Zardari is the widower of the late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The 68 years old serves as the co-chairman of the PPP and enjoys the support of the coalition government led by the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), which holds the required majority to ensure his victory.
This election follows a reciprocal agreement after the fractured mandate from the February 8 polls. The PPP supported the PML-N’s candidate for the Prime Minister’s slot, and in return, PPP’s nominee was approved for the President’s slot.
Zardari’s main challenger is Mahmood Khan Achakzai, head of the Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), who is contesting from the platform of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), which gained prominence after independent candidates backed by the jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) joined its ranks.
The ruling coalition is confident in Zardari’s election for a second term as President, given their majority in the Senate, National Assembly, Punjab Assembly, Sindh Assembly, and Balochistan Assembly. The opposition holds a majority only in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly.
Meanwhile, Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai Friday wrote a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) seeking the postponement of the presidential elections , which is scheduled to be held today (Saturday).
Achakzai, nominee of Sunni Ittehad Council, took a plea that in an “incomplete electoral college” presidential elections are not possible. In a letter addressed to Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, mentioned that the electoral college prescribed for the election of the president under the law and Constitution was “incomplete”. “[…] If the presidential election is conducted as per the schedule, that would be a denial of their votes, which otherwise is against the fundamental rights, law and Constitution,” the letter highlighted.