Pakistan poll panel announces Asif Ali Zardari's victory in presidential election

Islamabad [Pakistan], March 9 (ANI): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has declared that PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari secured victory with 411 votes in the presidential election, while his opponent PkMAP Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai got only 181 votes, Dawn reported.
In a statement released by the electoral body on behalf of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, the ECP said presidential polls were carried out in Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar and Islamabad.
Furthermore, the ECP mentioned that the results compiled by the presiding officers from all five locations were received at the ECP secretariat, as per Dawn.
"The total number of seats in the electoral college was 1,185 out of which 92 were vacant [...]," the ECP said. "The remaining 1,093 voters were to exercise their right to vote."
According To Dawn, the election commission highlighted that 1,044 votes were cast of which nine were declared invalid. "Thus, the total number of valid votes cast is 1,035."
It concluded that the official Result of Count on Form-VII shall be prepared and forwarded to the federal government tomorrow after receipt of the original record from the presiding officers.
According to Geo News, the voting in the presidential election in Pakistan concluded in the National Assembly and all provincial assemblies at 4 pm..
In the Balochistan Assembly, the coalition government's nominee, Asif Ali Zardari, secured a clean sweep, with all 47 members casting their votes in his favour. None voted for PTI-backed Mahmood Khan Achakzai, while 15 members were absent from the assembly, Dawn reported citing unofficial results.
Several parties, like Maulana Fazlur Rehman's Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and Jamaat-e-Islami boycotted the election of Pakistan's 14th president.
Two prominent candidates, Asif Ali Zardari, the joint nominee of PPP and PML-N, and Mahmood Khan Achakzai from the Sunni Ittehad Council, are the contenders for the presidential office. The current ruling coalition, comprising PML-N, PPP, and MQM-P, has thrown its support behind Asif Ali Zardari.
The president is chosen by an electoral college consisting of members from the Senate, the National Assembly, and the four provincial assemblies. A joint session of the parliament is being conducted at the parliament house in Islamabad, where members from both the National Assembly and the Senate will cast their votes, according to ARY News. (ANI)