Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party, was elected as Pakistan’s 14th President on March 9, marking his return to the role of head of state.
This marks Mr. Zardari’s second term in this significant position. Mr. Zardari, 68, was the joint candidate of both the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). His rival, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, 75, was the candidate the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
The new President was chosen by the electoral college of the newly elected members of the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies, in accordance with the Constitution.
A businessman-turned-politician, Mr. Zardari, husband of the late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, won with 255 votes against his opponent’s 119, as per Pakistani media. He replaces Dr. Arif Alvi, whose term ended last year but continued until the new electoral college formed.
Mr. Zardari, who previously held the presidency from 2008 to 2013, will make history as the first civilian to be elected twice to the presidency.
Achakzai leads the Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and ran under the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) banner. This coalition gained prominence when independent candidates supported by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) joined it.