As his term draws to a close, President Dr. Arif Alvi received a guard of honor on Friday. Former President Asif Ali Zardari is expected to win the presidency tomorrow and assume the position for a second time with the backing of allies.
On September 9, 2018, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Alvi took the oath of office as the nation’s thirteenth head of state, following his party’s election to power in the general elections. Although he was supposed to retire in 2023, his term was extended due to the lack of elected lawmakers.
A well-groomed group of the armed services honored the departing president today with a ceremony of honor.
The president stood at the saluting dais while the national anthem was performed. Afterwards, President Alvi shook hands with the Aiwan-e-Sadr officials and employees as well.
One day before of tomorrow’s planned presidential election, the farewell guard of honor was presented.
Presidential polls are primed for Zardari to win again.
The ruling coalition has estimated that its nominee, Asif Ali Zardari, will receive more than 400 electoral votes ahead of this Saturday’s (March 9) presidential election.
The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC)-backed Mahmood Khan Achakzai of Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) is competing against former president and PPP-P President Zardari in the race for the presidency, according to the ruling coalition.
In the Parliament House, senators and members of the National Assembly will exercise their right to vote in secret. The four provincial assemblies would also host voting places for the presidential election.
The National Assembly’s 325 members, 91 senators, the Punjab Assembly’s 354, the Sindh Assembly’s 157 members, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly’s 117 members, and the Balochistan Assembly’s 65 members will all cast ballots.
While Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which backed SIC and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, assured their support for Achakzai, the ruling coalition parties, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), National Party (NP), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), have all declared their support for Zardari.
The Balochistan National Party (BNP-M), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), and Akhtar Mengal of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) have said they would not be participating in the presidential election.
The party positions in the National Assembly, Senate, four provincial assemblies, and the anticipated number of votes for each presidential contender have all been examined by parliamentary sources.
202 votes, or about what Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif received in his election, are expected to go to Zardari from the National Assembly. The other votes that Zardari will receive are from PML-N (108), PPP (67), MQM-P (22), PML-Q (five), IPP (four), and the NP (one).
Achakzai is predicted to receive 94 votes, which will come from one vote from Majlis Wahdat al-Muslimeen and the SIC, and 92 votes from independent candidates.
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