Pakistan Election 2024: Zardari is the front-runner in the presidential election, which is scheduled for March 9

Asif Ali Zardari, who has served as president for over 11 years, is expected to win the top constitutional position once again, according to the announcement made by Pakistan’s electoral commission on Friday. Voting for the presidential election will take place on March 9.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said in a notice that the national assembly and all provincial legislatures will host the presidential election on March 9 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, as reported by Geo News.

Candidates for the post may submit their nomination papers to the presiding officers in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, and Quetta by Saturday before noon, as per the timetable released by the top electoral authority.

The ECP said that the returning officers would review the documents on March 4 and that the candidate may withdraw their candidacy the following day.

The report said that March 6 has been set aside as the retirement day and that the commission would release the list of legitimately nominated candidates on the same day.

The six-party governing coalition headed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shehbaz Sharif has nominated former president Asif Ali Zardari for the country’s highest post.

Among the other parties in the alliance are the Muttahida Qaumi Movement–Pakistan (MQM-P), the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and the Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML-N).

Asif Ali Zardari, 68, of the PPP, was declared the consensus choice for the nation’s highest constitutional post after the PML-N and the PPP resolved to form a coalition after neither party was able to win a resounding majority in the votes held on February 8. Prior to this, Zardari was president from September 2008 until September 2013.

In the general election held on February 8, independents supported by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party of former prime minister Imran Khan, secured majority seats in the 266-member National Assembly.

The PML-N and PPP’s efforts to create a coalition government have been rebuffed by Khan’s party, which has warned that the worst kind of political instability would occur if the “mandate thieves” steal its popular backing.

Ninety-three National Assembly seats went to independents, the bulk of whom were supported by the PTI party. The PPP secured 54 seats, placing third, behind the PML-N’s 75 seats. The MQM-P has seventeen seats. The PML-N and PPP, which constituted the governments of Punjab and Sindh, are anticipated to provide the alliance significant support.