An indirect presidential election was held on 6 September 2008 in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The

Electoral College of Pakistan The President of Pakistan is chosen by an electoral college ( ur, ), in Pakistan. According to Article 41(3) of the Constitution of Pakistan, this electoral college consists of the Senate, the National Assembly of Pakistan, and the Provincial A ...

– a joint sitting of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

and Provincial Assemblies – elected a new president after the resignation of President

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...

. As required by the constitution,

Muhammad Mian Soomro Muhammad Mian Soomro ( Sindhi: محمد ميان سومرو; born 19 August 1950) is a Pakistani politician, banker and senator who currently serves as the federal minister for Privatization. Born to a Native Sindhi family originally linked ...

(in his position as

Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan The Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan ( ur, ), is the president-chair of the Senate of Pakistan.Electoral College of Pakistan The President of Pakistan is chosen by an electoral college ( ur, ), in Pakistan. According to Article 41(3) of the Constitution of Pakistan, this electoral college consists of the Senate, the National Assembly of Pakistan, and the Provincial A ...

is formed by a joint sitting of the six leading political bodies in Pakistan: * the

Senate of Pakistan Senate of Pakistan or Aiwān-e-Bālā Pākistān ( ur, , , literally "Pakistan upper house"), is the upper legislative chamber of the bicameral legislature of Pakistan, and together with the National Assembly makes up the Parliament of Pakista ...

, * the National Assembly of Pakistan, * the

Provincial Assembly of the Punjab The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Punjab, which is located in Lahore, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Pak ...

, * the

Provincial Assembly of Sindh The Provincial Assembly of Sindh ( ur, ) is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Sindh, and is located in Karachi, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution o ...

, * the

Provincial Assembly of Balochistan The Provincial Assembly of Balochistan is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Balochistan, and is located in Quetta, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution ...

and * the

Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa The Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is located in Peshawar, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of ...

So that each province has an equal vote, all provincial assemblies are given exactly 65 votes in the electoral college. This mean that the each member of the Punjab Assembly has 65/370 = 0.176 votes, each member of the Sindh Assembly has 65/166 = 0.392 votes, each member of the

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly The Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is located in Peshawar, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of ...

has 65/124 = 0.524 votes and each member of the Balochistan Assembly has 65/65 = 1 vote. The political composition of these bodies at the time of the election was:

Candidates

Nominations closed on Tuesday 26 August.Crisis over judges eases in Pakistan
, '' International Herald Tribune'', 2008-08-22, accessed on 2009-08-22 * On 18 August the ruling

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...

co-chairmen,

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Bilawal Bhutto Zardari ( ur, بلاول بھٹو زرداری; born 21 September 1988) is a Pakistani politician who is serving as the 37th Minister of Foreign Affairs, in office since 27 April 2022. He became the chairman of Pakistan Peopl ...

and

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakist ...

, said that the next president should come from the PPP as they had the largest number of seats in parliament. * On 19 August the ruling coalition discussed the presidency and was reported to have considered five candidates: **

PPP co-chairman **

Mahmood Khan Achakzai Mahmood Khan Achakzai ( ps, محمود خان اڅکزی; born 14 December 1948) is a Pakistani Pashtun politician who is the chairman of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) till 27th December of 2022. Mahmood Achakzai was thrown out by the ...

, leader of the Pakhtun-khwa Milli Awami Party **

Aftab Shaban Mirani Aftab Shaban Mirani () is a Pakistani politician who has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since August 2018. Previously, he was a member of the National Assembly from May 2014 to May 2018. He served as 18th Chief Minister of Si ...

, former PPP

Chief Minister of Sindh Chief Minister of Sindh (, ur, —), is the elected head of government of Sindh. Syed Murad Ali Shah is a PPP politician and the current Chief Minister of Sindh. The Chief Minister is the head of the provincial government alongside the Chief ...

Fehmida Mirza Fahmida Mirza ( ur, ; born 20 December 1956) is a Pakistani politician who was Federal Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination, in office from 20 August 2018 until 10 April 2022. She served as the 18th and only women Speaker of the National ...

, PPP speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan from Sindh **

Faryal Talpur Faryal Talpur (; born 26 April 1958) is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2008 to May 2018. Early life Talpur was born on 28 April 1958 in Nawabshah, Pakistan to Hakim Ali Zardari and Bilquis ...

, PPP

Nazim Subahdar, also known as Nazim or in English as a "Subah", was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Mughal era ( of India who w ...

(mayor) of a city Sindh and sister of Asif Ali Zardari * On 20 August the opposition Muttahida Qaumi Movement – which backed Musharraf – said the President should not come from

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

and backed

leader

– who is from

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

– for president. * On 21 August the Pakistan Muslim League (N) was reported to have suggested three people for the presidency: ** Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, a lawyer **

Ataullah Mengal Ataullah Mengal (; 24 March 1929 – 2 September 2021) was a Pakistani politician and feudal figure. He was the head of the Mengal tribe until he nominated one of his grandsons, Sardar Asad Ullah Mengal, as his tribal successor. He was also the ...

, a nationalist leader from

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

, and **

Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui Saeed Uz Zaman Siddiqui (Urdu: ; 1 December 1939 – 11 January 2017) (pronunciation 'sa'eed -uz- zam'an'; alternatively Saiduzzaman Siddiqui) was a Pakistani jurist and legislator of great prominence who formerly served as the 15th Chief Jus ...

, a former Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate ...

* On 22 August, the PPP officially nominated Zardari as its candidate. * On 23 August, the PML(N) said it preferred an independent president. However, PML(N) head Sharif said he would support Zardari if they agreed to reduce the powers of the Presidency and reinstate the judges sacked after the

2007 Pakistani state of emergency A state of emergency was declared by President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf on 3 November 2007 which lasted until 15 December 2007, during which the constitution of Pakistan was suspended. When the state of emergency was declared, Musharraf cont ...

* On 24 August the

Awami National Party The Awami National Party (ANP; ur, , ps, اولسي ملي ګوند; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its curren ...

said it would support Zardari. * On 25 August: ** The PML-N pulled out of the coalition government and said it would support

for the presidency, and emphasised that the Presidency should remain a neutral office as it represents the Federating Units, Justice Siddiqui was not part of the PML(N) or any other political party. **

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

, the former

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er and leader of the

Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI; ur, , ) is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI is one of the thre ...

party said Zardari should not become president as he was "''such a corrupt man''". ** The

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam ( ur, جمیعت علماءِ اسلام, abbreviated as JUI) was founded by Shabbir Ahmad Usmani as an offshoot of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (JUH) on 26 October 1945. History The original Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind was formed in Bri ...

-Fazl party said it would support Zardari if the government agreed to end the military operation in Bajaur. ** The

Pakistan Muslim League (F) The Pakistan Muslim League (F) ( ur, , acronym: PMLF, PML-F, PML (F)) is a nationalist and pro- Hurs clan political party in Pakistan. It is one of the Pakistan Muslim Leagues. The letter 'F' in its name stands for ''functional''. It is primarily ...

said it would neither support nor oppose Zardari. ** The All Pakistan Minorities Alliance said it supported Zardari. * On 26 August the

PML(Q) The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam Group) ur, ; ''Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf)'', Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League") is a Conservative nationalist political party in Pakistan. As of the 2018 parliamentary election, it has a re ...

nominated Senator Mushahid Hussain as its candidate. * On 28 August the

Election Commission of Pakistan The Election Commission of Pakistan ( ur, ; ECP) is an independent, autonomous, permanent and constitutionally established federal body responsible for organizing and conducting elections to the national parliament, provincial legislatures, ...

announced that five people had been validly nominated as candidates: **

, PPP **

, supported by the PML-N and

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami (JI; Urdu: , "Islamic Congress"), or Jamaat as it is simply known, is an Islamist political party which is based in Pakistan and it is the Pakistani successor to Jamaat-e-Islami, which was founded in colonial India in 1941. I ...

; ** Mushahid Hussain, PML-Q **

, covering candidate for Zardari ** Roedad Khan, covering candidate for Justice Siddiqui * On 30 August, Talpur and Roedad withdrew their candidacies. * On 31 August the Pakistan Peoples Party (Sherpao) declared its support for Zardari.

Result

, - ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" , Candidate ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" , Main supporting party ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" ,

! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" ,

* ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" ,

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastl ...

! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , NWFP* ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , Total , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:right;" colspan=2 , 241 , style="text-align:right;" , 20 , style="text-align:right;" , 63 , style="text-align:right;" , 40 , style="text-align:right;" , 45 , style="text-align:right;" , 409 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:left;" , Pakistan Muslim League (N) &

; , style="text-align:right;" colspan=2 , 142 , style="text-align:right;" , 40 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 9 , style="text-align:right;" , 25 , style="text-align:right;" , 216 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Mushahid Hussain Syed , style="text-align:left;" ,

Pakistan Muslim League (Q) The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam Group) ur, ; ''Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf)'', Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League") is a Conservative nationalist political party in Pakistan. As of the 2018 parliamentary election, it has a re ...

, style="text-align:right;" colspan=2 , 31 , style="text-align:right;" , 3 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 7 , style="text-align:right;" , 2 , style="text-align:right;" , 44 , - , colspan=9 style="text-align:left;" , * Pro-rated to 65 votes , - , colspan=9 style="text-align:left;" , Source
Dawn

was elected

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

, Zardari had 62 of the 65 electoral votes while his 2 main opponents, got zero vote; in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Zardari got 56 votes against 25 by Siddiqui and one by Hussain; in Baluchistan, 49 votes while Siddiqui and Hussain got 5 and 2 respectively.

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

reported that Zardari "won 419 votes, far more than the 372 votes that would have guaranteed him victory." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said that Zardari would be sworn in "as soon as Saturday night or as late as Monday or Tuesday, diplomats and officials said." The new president, who obtains the largest number of votes, will serve for 5 years as Pakistan's 11th since 1956, when the country became a republic, excluding acting presidents. Voting was in progress at the Parliament House, while the Senate members finished casting their votes, amid the death of 12 people, after a

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

car bomber blasted a security checkpoint on the outskirts of

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

Violaion of rules in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

A number of MPAs of

including the Chief Minister violated the secret ballot by displaying the stamped ballot papers in the presidential elections. So these votes have to be subtracted from the vote count.

Reaction

activists in Pakistan held rallies and distributed sweets when the results were announced. The main opposition party, PML-N, said it was the "success of the democratic process in the country" but said he should resign as PPP co-chairman, as the President has traditionally been apolitical, and to transfer Presidential powers back to parliament. The newspaper ' Dawn' described Zardari as the most controversial President of Pakistan at the time of his election, and urged him to "''dispel the impression of a political wheeler-dealer and rise to the requirements of statesmanship''". The Regional Times of Sindh said Zardari had one of the stiffest jobs in the world as leader of the world's only nuclear-armed

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main ...

country, a frontline

war on terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

state and facing "''growing militancy''" and "''crippling economic woes''". However, they said his "''years of suffering have made him wiser and headstrong''" and he has "''displayed great acumen and maturity since returning to the political scene''". Privately, the Pakistan military, bureaucracy and business elite were said to be "aghast" at the result given past corruption allegations. The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Secretary of State welcomed Zardari's victory, praising his "emphasis on fighting terrorism" and "very strong words of friendship and alliance with the United States".US welcomes Zardari win in Pakistan
''

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazee ...

'', 2008-09-07, accessed on 2008-09-07

References

External links

Election Commission of Pakistan
{{Pakistani presidential elections

Presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

2008 in Pakistani politics September 2008 events in Pakistan