Asif Ali Zardari returns as President of Pakistan
Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), has been elected as the 14th president of Pakistan, Geo News reports. Zardari became head of state for the second time, having previously served as president from 2008 to 2013.
Zardari, husband of Pakistan's first female prime minister Benazir Bhutto (assassinated in 2007), the ruling alliance's sole candidate, won an impressive 255 electoral votes in the parliamentary elections, beating another candidate, Mahmud Khan Achakzai of the opposition United Sunni Council.
Presidential elections in Pakistan took place on March 9. In accordance with the Constitution of Pakistan, they are held a month after parliamentary elections or a month before the end of the presidential term of the current head of state.
On March 3, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Chairman Shahbaz Sharif was elected as the new Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic.
Zardari is the husband of Pakistan's first female prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007 while campaigning for a third term.
ORIENT news
