ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday officially declared Dr Arif Alvi of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) the winner of presidential election, having received 352 votes.
Dr Alvi was declared as the 13th president of Pakistan after an official count showed he had received the more votes, as compared to two other candidates: Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman, who was also the candidate of other opposition parties and PPP's Aitzaz Ahsan.
The results of Tuesday's election were prepared in the presence of the representatives of the three candidates here at the Election Commission Secretariat, with Chief Election Commissioner Justice ® Sardar Muhammad Raza, who was the returning officer (RO) with regards to the presidential election conducted on Tuesday.
According to the Form VII issued by the returning officer, Dr Alvi secured 352 electoral votes—44 more than his two rivals could collectively manage to obtain. Maulana Fazl and Aitzaz Ahsan received 184 and 124 electoral votes, respectively after all efforts to pitch a consensus candidate against Dr. Alvi by the opposition parties failed.
A total of 1110 votes were cast during the election that was simultaneously held at the Parliament House here and the Provincial Assemblies of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, the notification said. Of these, 28 votes were declared invalid, the Election Commission explained.
The Election Commission issued the related statistics, according to which, a total of 660 votes were calculated in accordance with Paragraph 18 of the Second Schedule.
Dr Alvi bagged 212 out of 424 valid votes polled at the parliament, where MNAs and senators voted jointly. He secured more votes than his opponents in all legislatures, except the Provincial Assembly of Sindh. Interestingly, he hails from the very province and from where he had contested and won two consecutive elections of the National Assembly.
The Election Commission has sent the official results to the federal government, which will notify Dr Alvi as the 13th President of Pakistan. He will replace President Mamnoon Hussain, who is set to bow out on September 9 after completing his five-year term.
