Indirect Presidential elections were held in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

on 9 March 2024 to select the 14th

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

. Asif Ali Zardari of the Pakistan People's Party was elected as President, defeating

Mahmood Khan Achakzai Mahmood Khan Achakzai ( ps, محمود خان اڅکزی; born 14 December 1948) is a Pakistani Pashtun politician who is the chairman of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) till 27th December of 2022. Mahmood Achakzai was thrown out by the ...

of the

PTI PTI may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Pardon the Interruption'', an American television sports show * PTI, a musical group on the WTII Records label Organizations * Pacific Torah Institute, a yeshiva high school in Vancouver, British Columb ...

-backed

Sunni Ittehad Council The Sunni Ittehad Council, formed in 2009, is an alliance of Islamic political and religious parties in Pakistan which represents followers of the Barelvi (Sufi) school of Sunni Islam. The current chairman of the main 'M' faction is Sayyid Ma ...

(SIC) alliance. Outgoing President Arif Alvi was eligible for re-election but did not contest for a second term.

Background

Since the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

and the four Provincial Assemblies were dissolved before the presidential election could take place, the election was conducted after general elections to all five assemblies, which were held on 8 February 2024. Therefore, the presidential election was held on 9 March 2024, as it needed to be held within thirty days of the elections to the assemblies, according to the proviso of Article 41(5) of the

Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ur, ), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. Drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with additional assistance from the country's Pakistani political parties, opposition ...

. Moreover, according to the proviso of Article 44(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan, Alvi continued to hold office until his successor would be elected.

Campaign

Asif Ali Zardari had previously served as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

from 2008 to 2013 and his Pakistan People's Party (PPP) was aligned with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance. The centre-left PPP had achieved a majority of votes in

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

and

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

, but this was not enough to gain the presidency. Zardari was only able to gain a majority of votes in

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

because of the support given by the PPP's partners in the PDM alliance and in the coalition government formed after the 2024 general election, including the PML-N, MQM-P, PML-Q,

IPP IPP may refer to: Organisations * Independent Power Producer, electric power generator * India Pride Project, recovering stolen Indian artefacts * Istituto per la Protezione delle Piante (Institute of Plant Protection), Italy * Max-Planck-Insti ...

, NP, and BAP. These parties, mainly the PML-N, held a majority of seats in the

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

and

provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

assemblies, although these national assembly seats were contested for rigging.

’s campaign was heavily reliant on the

Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party The Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (; ), abbreviated as PMAP or PKMAP, is a political party in Pakistan's Balochistan province. It was founded by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who was elected as the chairman, and Sher Ali Bacha, who served as the General ...

(PMAP)’s alliance partners, the

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI; ur, , ) is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI is one of the thre ...

(PTI) seat holders registered under the

(SIC). Achakzai was a regionalist from

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

, but won votes nationwide due to PTI-(SIC). Achakzai was supposedly nominated for the presidency by the PTI after he held a popular speech in the National Assembly, demanding that the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

be respected, parliament be empowered and more importantly to remove the military establishment from Pakistani politics, which was supported by the PTI-(SIC).

Schedule

The Election Commission of Pakistan announced the initial election schedule on 1 March 2024. Polling was conducted in the following five places on 9 March 2024: * Parliament House, Islamabad * Punjab Provincial Assembly,

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

* Sindh Provincial Assembly,

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

* Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly,

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

Balochistan Provincial Assembly The Provincial Assembly of Balochistan is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Balochistan, and is located in Quetta, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of P ...

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

Members of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and

cast their votes at Parliament House whereas members of Provincial Assemblies cast their votes at respective assemblies.

Electoral system

The

president of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Electoral College of Pakistan – a joint sitting of the

and Provincial Assemblies. The votes of the members of the Senate and National Assembly are counted as single votes. Meanwhile, the votes given by the provincial assembly legislators are adjusted to give each province an equal share in the election. This is because each provincial assembly has a varying number of members, depending on population size. The largest province by population size,

, has a total of 371 members in its assembly, whereas the smallest province of

has only 65 members in its legislature. Therefore, the provincial votes are weighted against the Balochistan assembly in the following manner: Regarding timing, the constitution states that election to the office of President must be held no earlier than sixty days and no later than thirty days before the expiration of the term of the incumbent president. If assemblies are not present, the constitution allows the election of the president to be delayed thirty days after the general election. The electoral process itself is done via a

secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...

due to the post of the president being constitutionally non-partisan. Therefore, unlike during the election of the Prime Minister, cross-party voting is not liable to be considered defection.

Electoral College

The Electoral College of Pakistan is formed by a joint sitting of the six following leading political bodies in Pakistan: * ''The

Senate of Pakistan Senate of Pakistan or Aiwān-e-Bālā Pākistān ( ur, , , literally "Pakistan upper house"), is the upper legislative chamber of the bicameral legislature of Pakistan, and together with the National Assembly makes up the Parliament of Pakista ...

'' * ''The

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...

'' * ''The

Provincial Assembly of the Punjab The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani provinces, Pakistani province of Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, which is located in Lahore, the provincial capital. It was established under ...

'' * ''The

Provincial Assembly of Sindh The Provincial Assembly of Sindh ( ur, ) is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Sindh, and is located in Karachi, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of ...

'' * ''The

Provincial Assembly of Balochistan The Provincial Assembly of Balochistan is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Balochistan, and is located in Quetta, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of P ...

'' * ''The Provincial Assembly of Khyber Paktunkhwa'' The maximum strength of the Electoral College is 696. However, considering the vacant seats, the electoral college for this presidential election stood at 679. A simple majority is required in a two-candidate contest to claim victory. But in a three-candidate race, the victory requirement goes down considerably depending on how the votes are split.

Candidates

On 15 December 2023,

Faisal Karim Kundi Faisal Karim Kundi ( ur, ; ps, فیصل کریم کنډي) is a Pakistani politician currently serving as Minister of Statebr>Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Pakistansince September 2022 . He also holds the office of the Centra ...

, the spokesperson of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), announced that former President Asif Ali Zardari, who is also the party's president, would be their presidential candidate for the 2024 elections. The

Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Liberal conservatism, liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Teh ...

(PML(N)) also announced its support for Zardari's candidacy. Moreover, the

Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan Muttahida Qaumi Movement (Pakistan) ( ur, MQM-P) is a Social liberal Muhajir nationalist Secular political party. The leader of the party is Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. The party's symbol is the kite. It is mostly active in Karachi where up t ...

(MQM–P),

Balochistan Awami Party The Balochistan Awami Party ( ur, , lit=Balochistan People's Party) is a political party based in the Balochistan province of Pakistan founded in 2018 by political dissidents of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) in ...

(BAP),

Awami National Party The Awami National Party (ANP; ur, , ps, اولسي ملي ګوند; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its curr ...

(ANP), and

Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP; ur, , ) is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded by Jahangir Tareen on 8 June 2023. It was registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on 5 October 2023. History The pre-existing tension ...

(IPP) also announced their support for Zardari. On 2 March 2024, the PTI-backed

nominated

, the leader of the

(PMAP), as their presidential candidate.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan (Fazl) also Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) or simply as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Urdu: ; ; JUI-F) is a Deobandi Sunni political party in Pakistan. Established as the ''Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam'' in 1945, it is the result o ...

and

Jamat-e-Islami Jamaat-e-Islami ( ur, ) () is an Islamic movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamic theologian and socio-political philosopher, Syed Abul Ala Maududi.van der Veer P. and Munshi S. (eds.''Media, War, and Terrorism: Responses fro ...

boycotted the election.

Results

Asif Ali Zardari won the election by getting 411 electoral votes.

Reactions

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Zardari on his victory and said that he would be “a symbol of the strength of the federation.” Mahmood Khan Achakzai also congratulated Zardari, adding that his election was held in a free and fair manner. PTI chair Gohar Ali Khan called Zardari's election "unconstitutional".

References

{{Pakistani presidential elections

Presidential President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

Presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

Presidential elections in Pakistan

Background

Campaign

Schedule

Electoral system

Electoral College

Candidates

Results

Reactions

See also

References