PTI's Dr Arif Alvi elected 13th President of Pakistan
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) Dr Arifur Rehman Alvi has been elected the 13th President of Pakistan, according to results provided by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Alvi, who is now set to succeed the outgoing President Mamnoon Hussain, edged out PML-N backed chief of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), Fazlur Rehman and senior PPP leader Aitzaz Ahsan in the presidential race by garnering more votes than both his rivals combined.
The ECP, in a press release, said that a total of 1,110 voters participated in the presidential polls held simultaneously at the Parliament House and the four provincial assembles today. Of the total votes cast, 28 votes were declared invalid.
After the total valid votes were treated according to the provision of paragraph 18 of the Second Schedule of the Constitution, Alvi secured 352 votes, Rehman bagged 184, while Ahsan's tally stood at 124.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has summoned the trio or their agents to the ECP Secretariat tomorrow to witness the tabulation process, after which the official result will be announced and the winner notified.
Votes breakdown
Of the 430 votes cast in the National Assembly and Senate, PTI's Alvi received 212 votes, JUI-F's Rehman bagged 131 and PPP's Ahsan garnered 81; six votes were rejected.
Of the 61 Balochistan Assembly members, 60 cast their votes, with former CM Nawab Sanaullah Zehri the sole absentee. According to provisional results reported by DawnNewsTV, PTI's Alvi secured 45 votes, while 15 lawmakers voted for Rehman. PPP's Ahsan failed to receive any vote.
In Sindh Assembly, PPP's Ahsan garnered 100 votes, Dr Alvi bagged 56, whereas just a solitary vote was cast in the favour of JUI's Rehman; one vote was wasted.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Dr Alvi received 78 of the total 109 votes, while Rehman and Ahsan had 26 and five votes respectively to their names.
In Punjab Assembly, Dr Alvi secured 186 votes, whereas Rehman and Ahsan received 141 and six votes respectively; 18 votes were rejected.
The unusually high number of rejected votes in the Punjab Assembly could be attributed to last week's murmurs that a group within the PML-N was unhappy over the party’s decision to nominate Rehman, and even termed him a “bad choice”.
'President of the entire nation'
"I am grateful to God that the PTI-nominated candidate has been successful in the presidential race today," Alvi said in his victory speech. "I am also thankful to Imran Khan for nominating me for such a big responsibility."
In his impending five-year term, Alvi said he hopes that the "fortunes of the poor" take a turn for the better, and that they get "food, shelter and clothing".
Alvi said that "from today I am not just a president that was nominated by the PTI but I am the president of the entire nation and all parties".
"Each party has an equal right on me," he added.
A joint sitting of the Senate and the newly elected national and provincial assemblies — together known as the electoral college of Pakistan — was called to elect the country's 13th president.
The voting started at around 10am and ended at 4pm. The NA and Senate members voted inside the National Assembly hall, whereas the MPAs did the same in their respective provincial assemblies.