Mamnoon Hussain rises to Presidency; secures 432 electoral votes
31 July, 2013
ISLAMABAD: Mamnoon Hussain, a veteran politician and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's trusted ally, was elected president on Tuesday in a vote by legislators for the largely ceremonial post of head of state.
Mamnoon Hussain was elected as new president with overwhelming majority in the presidential election which had been marred by controversy over the role of the Supreme Court and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in its scheduling. Hussain defeated his rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidate Justice (r) Wajihuddin with a huge margin of 355 votes in a one-to-one contest after opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP) boycotted the presidential election as a mark of protest against its rescheduling by the Supreme Court on a petition of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Announcing the official result of the presidential election, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (r) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim declared Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidate Mamnoon Hussain victorious. Addressing a press conference after the vote count, the CEC said Mamnoon Hussain had secured 432 votes from parliament, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies against PTI candidate Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmed's 77 votes.
According to the breakup of votes, Mamnoon Hussain clinched 277 votes from parliament; 54.14 from Punjab Assembly, 24.76 from Sindh Assembly; 21.49 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, and 55 from the Balochistan Assembly. Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmed clinched 34 votes from parliament, 4 from Punjab Assembly, 1.9 from Sindh Assembly, 36.17 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and 1 from Balochistan Assembly. President-elect Mamnoon Hussain has a long association with the PML-N and has served as Sindh governor during the second tenure of the party in 90s.
Mamnoon Hussain, 73, will be sworn in on September 9 at the Presidency due to be vacated by incumbent Asif Ali Zardari, who is stepping down at the end of his five-year term. Hussain, who will be president for five years, resigned his membership of the PML-N soon after the election results were announced. The presidential election was boycotted by the PPP, PML-Q, ANP, BNP-Awami.
Interestingly, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed of the Awami Muslim League toed the line of PPP in boycotting the election rather than going with the PTI, which supported him in the general election. The legislators of PML-N, JUI-F, MQM, National Party, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, PML-Functional and Qaumi Watan Party voted for Mamnoon.
Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari has felicitated Mamnoon Hussain on his successful election to the office of president of Pakistan and hoped that he would strengthen democracy.
Spokesperson of the president, Senator Farhatullah Babar said that in his message of congratulations, President Zardari wished the president-elect well for the discharge of his responsibilities as head of the federation. He added that the election of the new president is a step towards the "strengthening of democracy", and that all efforts should be geared towards enhanced civilian control and support of the federation. He said that with the election of the new president another big step had been taken towards smooth transfer of power in a democratic dispensation which was a good augury for democracy in the country.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also felicitated Mamnoon Hussein on his election as the president. The prime minister expressed the hope that the newly elected president would come up to the expectations and trust reposed in him by the peoples' representatives. Mamnoon Hussain is a businessman, close ally of the premier and a long serving member of the main ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), and comes from Sindh. His loyalty to Nawaz and low-profile will shore up the prime minister's authority and provide stark contrast to Zardari, considered a sharp political operator behind the scenes.
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