Wed. Dec 25th, 2024

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NEW DELHI: Pakistan, still in shock over allegations of electoral fraud in the wake of the national elections, is now gearing up for the presidential election by March 9, Dawn reported.
This report came just two days before half of the senators retired after completing their six-year terms.
“The president will be elected by the present senators after setting up of all the four provincial assemblies,” a senior PPP office-bearer said, adding that the election could take place on March 9 or 10.
The six-party alliance, led by the Pakistan Muslim League-N’s Shehbaz Sharif, is set to form a coalition government at the Centre and has already announced Asif Ali Zardari as its consensus candidate for the country’s top constitutional office. Zardari previously served as the president from September 2008 to 2013, as per Dawn.
According to Article 41(4) of the Constitution, the election for the office of the president must be held between thirty and sixty days before the expiration of the current president’s term. Since the general elections were held on February 8, the presidential election must be conducted by March 9. This coincides with the retirement of half of the 100-member Senate.
The Senate elections were also scheduled for the first week of March, but due to the delay in the general elections of the National and provincial assemblies, they will now be held in the last week of March or the first week of April. This means that the upper house of parliament will be incomplete and dysfunctional for a period of time.
According to a PPP leader, it is because of the upcoming presidential election and to ensure Mr Zardari’s win that the party has stopped its two senators, Nisar Khuhro and Jam Mahtab Dahar, from taking the oath as MPAs in the Sindh Assembly.
According to the formula applied for the president’s election, the vote of a senator is counted as a single vote, whereas in the Sindh Assembly, one vote will be equal to nearly four votes. In this way, Mr Zardari will get benefit in the presidential elections, reported Dawn.
Incumbent President, Dr Arif Alvi, has already completed his five-year term but continues to hold office until a successor is chosen. He is the country’s fourth democratically elected president to complete a full term. The previous three presidents who completed their terms were Chaudhary Fazal Elahi, Asif Ali Zardari, and Mamnoon Hussain.



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