As voting commences today, Pakistan will choose its fourteenth president.

The candidates for president are Mahmood Khan Achakzai of the Sunni Ittehad Council and Asif Ali Zardari, the joint candidate of the PML-N and the PPP.

Former President Asif Ali Zardari has received support from the current ruling coalition, which is made up of the PML-N, the PPP, and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).

The Senate, National Assembly, and four provincial assemblies elect the President through an electoral college.

Members of the National Assembly and the Senate will be able to cast ballots at a joint session of parliament being conducted at the parliament building in Islamabad today.

In a similar vein, today is the election day for the provincial assembly.

All four assemblies will serve as polling places for the next presidential elections, according to a declaration made on Saturday by the Pakistani Election Commission.

The election of the nation’s next president will be decided by at least 162 members of the provincial assemblies in Sindh, 353 in Punjab, 65 in Balochistan, and 115 in KP.

PPP co-chair Asif Ali Zardari is expected to win a majority in the Senate and all assemblies and become Pakistan’s second-elected president.

Achakzai requests that the presidential election be postponed.
The presidential candidate supported by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), Mehmood Khan Achakzai, requested on Friday that the election be postponed because the electoral college is “incomplete” by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Achakzai said that the electoral college for a presidential election was “still incomplete” in a letter to the top election commissioner on Friday.

“To date, no one has been elected to those reserved seats. In the event that the presidential election is held in accordance with the schedule, this would amount to a denial of their votes, which is in violation of the law, the constitution, and fundamental rights,” the letter said.

“In light of the aforementioned circumstances, it is hereby submitted that the proposed election for the office of President of Pakistan is manifestly impracticable. Consequently, it is requested that the election be postponed or delayed until the conclusion of the electoral college in the interests of justice, fair play, and equity.”

According to Achakzai, an injunction order has been granted, and the Sunni Ittehad Council has already petitioned the court for reserved seats.