Voting kicked off on Saturday for Pakistan's presidential election, with Asif Ali Zardari anticipated to clinch a second term in office. Zardari, aged 68, representing a joint effort between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), is competing against Mahmood Khan Achakzai, 75, the candidate of the Sunni Ittehad Council.

Polling stations opened at 10 am and will remain operational until 4 pm.

The new president will succeed Dr. Arif Alvi, whose five-year term concluded last year. However, he has continued in office due to the absence of a new electoral college.

As per the Constitution, the president is indirectly elected by an electoral college composed of federal and provincial lawmakers.

Achakzai, leader of the Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), is contesting under the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), which gained traction after independent candidates supported by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) joined forces.

Zardari, a former businessman turned politician, is the widower of the late Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Supported by the coalition government led by PML-N, Zardari, co-chairman of PPP, is in a favorable position.

This development stems from a reciprocal agreement following the February 8 polls, where PPP endorsed PML-N's candidate for prime minister and secured governance in Punjab, while Zardari gained support from PML-N to rule Sindh. Zardari, who previously served as president from 2008 to 2013, is poised to become the first civilian to secure a second presidential term.

With majorities in the Senate, National Assembly, Punjab Assembly, Sindh Assembly, and Balochistan Assembly, the ruling coalition is confident in Zardari's victory, leaving the opposition with a majority only in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assembly.

Just before the election, Achakzai urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to postpone the polls until the electoral college is complete.

In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja, Achakzai argued that the incomplete electoral college, due to vacant reserved seats in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies, would compromise the legitimacy of the election.

Parliament and provincial assembly buildings have been designated as polling stations to facilitate voting by lawmakers.

The ruling coalition anticipates Zardari to secure over 400 electoral votes, with a total of 325 National Assembly members, 91 senators, 354 Punjab Assembly members, 157 Sindh Assembly members, 117 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly members, and 65 Balochistan Assembly members eligible to vote.

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