Pakistani politician Asif Ali Zardari became the country’s 14 president, making history as the only civilian president to secure the position twice.
The co-chairman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) defeated Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party’s (PMAP) Mahmood Khan Achakzai to hold the office of president.
Asif Ali Zardari vs Mahmood Khan Achakzai
As per the final vote tally, Zardari won 255 votes while Achakzai managed to gain 119 votes. In total, Zardari secured 411 electoral votes in parliament and the four assemblies, while Achakzai bagged only 181 votes.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) finalized all arrangements for the process, commencing at 10am and concluding at 4pm.
He is supported by the PML-N, PPP, and other allied parties in the coalition government. On the other side, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, President of the Pakhtunkhwa Mili Awami Party, represents the joint opposition candidate.
PPP Senator Sherry Rehman acted as Asif Ali Zardari’s polling agent, while Senator Shafiq Tareen represented Achakzai.
Head of Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Achakzai backed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), which became a pivotal force after independent candidates supported by jailed, former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) joined the party.
When will Asif Ali Zardari take oath as President?
The 14th President of Pakistan, Zardari, will be taking oath of the President’s office on March 10, 2024.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman chose not to participate in the election, and the Jamaat-e-Islami also decided to boycott, citing concerns about the authenticity of the process. However, parties like MQM, PPP, PML-N, National Party, BAP, and BNP declared their support for Asif Ali Zardari.
Asif Ali Zardari’s Previous Presidential Tenure
Zardari earlier served as the 11th president of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013, the first president born after Independence. Zardari completed his five-year term on 8 September 2013, becoming the first democratically elected president in the 66-year-long history of Pakistan to complete his tenure. He was succeeded by Mamnoon Hussain as president.
Who is Asif Ali Zardari?
Born on July 21, 1955, Zardari is the son of Hakim Ali Zardari, who held was the chief of the Baloch Zardari tribe and a seasoned politician associated with the Awami National Party. Zardari comes from an influential family of politicians and is the widower of twice-elected Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto, with whom he has 3 children — Bilawal, Aseefa, and Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari. Bilawal currently serves as the PPP chairman and remained Islamabad’s top diplomat under former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government from April 2022 to August 2023.
Controversies and Corruption Cases
In 1988, when Benazir was elected Pakistan’s first female Prime Minister, Zardari, in the political sphere, was dubbed as “Mr. 10%” by his opponents, who also blame him him for the dismissal of his slain wife and daughter of political figure, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Benazir’s two governments alleging that he was involved in corruption cases. But it didn’t end there, Zardari was also accused of kidnapping a local businessman and strapped a bomb to his leg then then ordered him to go to a bank to withdraw a huge sum of money from his account. The case that never reached a decision, was tried in the anti-terrorism court between 1990 and 1993.
