An indirect presidential election was held on 6 September 2008 in Pakistan. The Electoral College of Pakistan – a joint sitting of the Senate, National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies – elected a new president after the resignation of President Pervez Musharraf. As required by the constitution, Muhammad Mian Soomro (in his position as Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan) automatically became acting president on 18 August 2008, upon the resignation of Musharraf."Soomro takes over as acting Pak President" , Press Trust of India, 18 August 2008. The constitution required that a new president be elected by Parliament within 30 days; Soomro was considered loyal to Musharraf, and it was considered certain that he would be replaced in that election.Stephen Graham, "Musharraf's exit poses challenge for Pakistan", AFP, 18 August 2008.
Composition of the Electoral College The Electoral College of Pakistan is formed by a joint sitting of the six leading political bodies in Pakistan: the Senate of Pakistan, the National Assembly of Pakistan, the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
So that each province has an equal vote, all provincial assemblies are given exactly 65 votes in the electoral college. This mean that the each member of the Punjab Assembly has 65/370 = 0.176 votes, each member of the Sindh Assembly has 65/166 = 0.392 votes, each member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has 65/124 = 0.524 votes and each member of the Balochistan Assembly has 65/65 = 1 vote.This system is detailed in the Constitution of Pakistan here.
The political composition of these bodies at the time of the election was:
Body PPP PMLN PML(Q) MQM-L ANP JUI(F) PML-F QWP BNP(A) NPP Other/Independents Total National Assembly 124 91 54 25 13 7 5 1 1 1 18 340 Senate 9 4 38 6 2 17 1 3 1 – 19 100 Punjab Assembly 107 170 84 – – 2 3 – – – 4 370 Sindh Assembly 93 – 9 51 2 – 8 – – 3 – 166 Balochistan Assembly 12 – 19 – 4 10 – – 7 – 13 65 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly 30 9 6 – 48 14 – 6 – – 11 124 Total (weighted) 216 130 132 51 45 42 10 7 9 2 56 700 Source: Election Commission of Pakistan's tally of seats of the National Assembly, Senate, and Provincial Assemblies. Also given is the counting procedure of Presidential election
Candidates Nominations closed on Tuesday 26 August.Crisis over judges eases in Pakistan , International Herald Tribune, 2008-08-22, accessed on 2009-08-22 On 18 August the ruling PPP co-chairmen, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari, said that the next president should come from the PPP as they had the largest number of seats in parliament.PPP chairman says next Pakistani President to come from his party, Xinhua, 2008-08-18, accessed on 2008-08-20 On 19 August the ruling coalition discussed the presidency and was reported to have considered five candidates: Asif Ali Zardari PPP co-chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai, leader of the PkMAP Aftab Shaban Mirani, former PPP Chief Minister of Sindh Fehmida Mirza, PPP speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan from Sindh Faryal Talpur, PPP Nazim (mayor) of a city Sindh and sister of Asif Ali ZardariPakistan coalition meets on Musharraf successor, Agence France Presse, 2008-08-19, accessed on 2008-08-20 On 20 August the opposition Muttahida Qaumi Movement – which backed Musharraf – said the President should not come from Punjab and backed Pakistan Peoples Party leader Asif Ali Zardari – who is from Sindh – for president.Pakistani Opposition Party Backs PPP's Zardari for President , Voice of America, 2008-08-20, accessed on 2008-08-20 On 21 August the PMLN was reported to have suggested three people for the presidency:Zardari's Emergence as PPP President Pick Widens Rift, Bloomberg, 2008-08-22, accessed on 2008-08-22 Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, a lawyer Ataullah Mengal, a nationalist leader from Balochistan (Pakistan), and Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan On 22 August, the PPP officially nominated Zardari as its candidate.Bhutto's widower will be party's candidate for Pakistan presidency , International Herald Tribune, 2008-08-22, accessed on 2008-08-23 On 23 August, the PMLN said it preferred an independent president.Bhuttos Witwer will Nachfolger Musharrafs werden (Bhutto's widower wants to become Musharraf's successor) (German), Der Standard, 2008-08-23, accessed on 2008-08-24 However, PML(N) head Sharif said he would support Zardari if they agreed to reduce the powers of the Presidency and reinstate the judges sacked after the 2007 Pakistani state of emergencySharif accepts Zardari on condition, Al Jazeera, 2008-08-24, accessed on 2008-08-24 On 24 August the ANP said it would support Zardari.Pakistani coalition wrangles over president, judges, Reuters, 2008-08-24, accessed on 2008-08-25 On 25 August: The PMLN pulled out of the coalition government and said it would support Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui for the presidency, and emphasised that the Presidency should remain a neutral office as it represents the Federating Units, Justice Siddiqui was not part of the PML(N) or any other political party.Sharif withdraws party from Pakistan ruling coalition, CNN, 2008-08-25, accessed on 2008-08-25 Imran Khan, the former cricket and leader of the PTI party said Zardari should not become president as he was "such a corrupt man".Imran, Babar clash over Zardari's nomination, Daily Times, 2008-08-25, accessed on 2008-08-25 The JUI (F)-Fazl party said it would support Zardari if the government agreed to end the military operation in Bajaur.JUI-F NWFP links Zardari's support to end of operation, Daily Times, 2008-08-25, accessed on 2008-08-25 The PML(F) said it would neither support nor oppose Zardari.PML-F to remain neutral in presidential election, Daily Times, 2008-08-25, accessed on 2008-08-25 The All Pakistan Minorities Alliance said it supported Zardari.Minorities want Zardari as next president: APMA, Daily Times (Pakistan), 2008-08-25, accessed on 2008-08-25 On 26 August the PML(Q) nominated Senator Mushahid Hussain as its candidate. On 28 August the Election Commission of Pakistan announced that five people had been validly nominated as candidates: Asif Ali Zardari, PPP Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, supported by the PMLN and JI; Mushahid Hussain, PML(Q) Faryal Talpur, covering candidate for Zardari Roedad Khan, covering candidate for Justice SiddiquiTop contenders cleared for presidential elections, Daily Times, 2008-08-29, accessed on 2008-09-07 On 30 August, Talpur and Roedad withdrew their candidacies.Three main parties' candidates in fray for Pak Prez poll, Hindustan Times, 2008-08-31, accessed on 2008-09-07 On 31 August the QWP declared its support for Zardari.PPP Sherpao announces support for Zardari , Pakistan Tribune, 2008-08-31, accessed on 2008-09-01
Result
! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" |Candidate ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" |Main supporting party ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" |Senate ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" |National Assembly ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" |Punjab* ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" |Sindh* ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" |Balochistan ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" |NWFP* ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" |Total |- | style="text-align:left;" | Asif Ali Zardari | style="text-align:left;" | Pakistan Peoples Party | style="text-align:right;" colspan=2 | 241 | style="text-align:right;" | 20 | style="text-align:right;" | 63 | style="text-align:right;" | 40 | style="text-align:right;" | 45 | style="text-align:right;" | 409
| style="text-align:left;" | Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui | style="text-align:left;" | Pakistan Muslim League (N) & Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan; | style="text-align:right;" colspan=2 | 142 | style="text-align:right;" |40 | style="text-align:right;" |0 | style="text-align:right;" |9 | style="text-align:right;" |25 | style="text-align:right;" | 216 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Mushahid Hussain Syed | style="text-align:left;" | Pakistan Muslim League (Q) | style="text-align:right;" colspan=2 | 31 | style="text-align:right;" |3 | style="text-align:right;" |0 | style="text-align:right;" |7 | style="text-align:right;" |2 | style="text-align:right;" |44 |- | colspan=9 style="text-align:left;" | * Pro-rated to 65 votes |- | colspan=9 style="text-align:left;" |Source: Dawn
Asif Ali Zardari was elected President of Pakistan, as Chief election commissioner Qazi Mohammad Farooq announced that "Asif Ali Zardari secured 241 votes out of the 426 valid votes polled in the parliament," In Sindh, Zardari had 62 of the 65 electoral votes while his 2 main opponents, got zero vote; in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Zardari got 56 votes against 25 by Siddiqui and one by Hussain; in Baluchistan, 49 votes while Siddiqui and Hussain got 5 and 2 respectively.afp.google.com, Zardari wins Pakistan presidential election: officials BBC reported that Zardari "won 419 votes, far more than the 372 votes that would have guaranteed him victory."news.bbc.co.uk, Bhutto's widower wins presidency The New York Times said that Zardari would be sworn in "as soon as Saturday night or as late as Monday or Tuesday, diplomats and officials said."nytimes.com, Zardari Is Elected Pakistan's President
The new president, who obtains the largest number of votes, will serve for 5 years as Pakistan's 11th since 1956, when the country became a republic, excluding acting presidents.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, Zardari front-runner afp.google.com, Bhutto's widower set to become Pakistan president Voting was in progress at the Parliament House, while the Senate members finished casting their votes,thenews.com.pk, Presidential election polling completed in Senate, underway in assemblies amid the death of 12 people, after a suicide car bomber blasted a security checkpoint on the outskirts of Peshawar.ap.google.com, Police: 12 dead in suicide car blast in Pakistan
Violation of rules in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa A number of MPAs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly including the Chief Minister violated the secret ballot by displaying the stamped ballot papers in the presidential elections. So these votes have to be subtracted from the vote count.
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