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Arif Alvi elected 13th President of Pakistan

Arif Alvi elected 13th President of Pakistan
September 4, 2018
ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The ruling party candidate Dr Arif was elected as the 13th President of Pakistan on Tuesday, replacing Mamnoon Hussain whose five-year term expires in September. According to unofficial results, PTI’s Arif Alvi received total 353 electoral votes, while Maulana Fazlur Rahman backed by the PML-N and the MMA got 185 votes. PPP’s Aitzaz Ahsan received 124 votes. In the National Assembly and the Senate, Dr Arif Alvi got 212 votes. The joint candidate of the opposition Maulana Fazlur Rahman got 131 votes, while Aitzaz Ahsan received 81 votes. As many as six votes were rejected. In the Punjab Assembly, PTI’s Arif Alvi received 186 votes, while Maulana Fazlur Rahman got 141 votes. PPP’s Aitzaz Ahsan received 16 votes. In total, 18 votes, including two of the PTI, were rejected. Two MPAs of the PML-N did not come to cast their votes. In the Sindh Assembly, Arif Ali bagged 56 votes, while Aitzaz Ahsan and Maulana Fazlur Rahman received 100 and one vote respectively. In Balochistan Assembly, Arif Ali got 45 votes, while Maulana Fazlur Rahman received 15 votes. However, Aitzaz Ahsan got no vote. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Arif Alvi received 78 votes, while Maulana Fazlur Rahman and Aitzaz Ahsan got 26 and five votes respectively. According to the formula for the presidential election, 39 votes of Aitzaz Ahsan, 22 votes of Dr Arif Alvi and one vote of Maulana Fazlur Rahman will be considered from the Sindh Assembly. In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, 41 votes of Dr Arif Alvi, three votes of Aitzaz Ahsan and 14 votes of Maulana Fazlur Rahman will be considered under the formula. Alvi will be sworn in on Sept 9 at the presidency due to be vacated by incumbent Mamnoon Hussain. The new president was elected by an electoral college made up of members of the Senate, National Assembly and the assemblies of the four provinces. Voting was held with secret Earlier, polling for the presidential election commenced at 10am and concluded at 4pm. Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court presided over the election in the Parliament. Prime Minister Imran Khan also cast his vote through secret ballot for the presidential election at 3:15pm. PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and PPP leaders Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari were among lawmakers who cast their votes. Chief Election Commissioner Sardar Raza is the returning officer for the presidential election. Strict security arrangements were in place at the National Assembly, the four provincial assemblies and the Senate for the occasion. PTI candidate Arif Alvi also arrived at the National Assembly premises while lawmakers were casting their votes. Ahsan and Fazl cannot cast votes for themselves as the PPP leader is not a member of the Senate while the JUI-F chief is neither an MNA nor an MPA. Alvi is the only presidential candidate who can cast vote for himself.