Pakistan to hold presidential election

Pakistan’s presidential election will be held today.

The polling for the indirect elections will take place today following the submission and the scrutiny of the candidacy nominations conducted earlier on 2 and 4 March. While the presidential election was scheduled last year, it was postponed to after the general election largely due to the National and Provincial assemblies being dissolved. The latter was imperative as the President of Pakistan is elected by the members of the National Assembly, the Senate and the four provincial assemblies.

Despite the incumbent President Dr. Arif Alvi’s term expiring last year, he has been serving as president for the interim period as the formation of the electoral college was pending.

Nonetheless, former President Asif Ali Zardari, who served from 2008 to 2013, is expected to win today’s election. He was endorsed and jointly nominated by the ruling coalition government of the Pakistan’s Muslim League and the Pakistan’s People’s Party led by former PM Nawaz Sharif. If elected, expect a resurgence in bilateral ties with China, which in the recent years has largely been plagued by the halting of the regional corridor project. Ultimately, the renewal in ties with Beijing will ultimately come at the cost if its relations with New Delhi.