QUETTA, Sept 6: Fifty-nine members of the 65-seat Balochistan Assembly voted for Pakistan People’s Party presidential candidate Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday.

Two members each voted for Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Mushahid Hussain Sayed of the PML-Q.

The PML-N has only one member in the assembly but its candidate got two votes, while the PML-Q has 19 members and its candidate received only two votes. The PPP has 13 members in the assembly.

Mr Zardari got the support of all the coalition partners — the Awami National Party, Balochistan National Party-Awami, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, National Party Parliamentarians and independents — besides 16 PML-Q members.

The polling started at 10am and by 1pm 63 votes had been cast.

The polling was closed at its scheduled time of 3pm.

Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind and Mir Tariq Hussain Masoori Bugti of PML-Q could not cast their votes. Mr Rind is out of country, while Mr Bugti, who was in Islamabad, could not return to the provincial capital because his flight was cancelled due to dust storm in the Quetta valley.

Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court Justice Amanullah Khan Yasinzai acted as the presiding officer while Provincial Election Commissioner Sono Khan Baloch and Secretary Assembly Mohammad Khan Mengal were the polling officers.