Arif Alvi is Pakistan’s new President

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi was on Tuesday elected as the 13th President of Pakistan, the result data from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) confirmed.

Alvi secured the lion’s share of votes from the 1,100 that were cast on Tuesday, with the founding member of the PTI garnering nearly twice as many votes as Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and Jamiat Ulema-e Islam – F (JUI-F) chief, Fazal-ur-Rehman, who was supported by the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), according to a press release from the ECP.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Aitzaz Ahsan was in the third spot.

The elections were held simultaneously at the Parliament House and the four provincial assemblies, with 27 of the total votes cast being annulled. The procedures laid down in paragraph 18 of the Second Schedule of the Constitution were followed for the treatment of the valid votes.

Following the counting, Alvi had emerged with 353 votes, Rehman with 185 and Ahsan with 124. All three, or their representatives, have been invited to the ECP secretariat on Wednesday to witness the counting process, following which the results will be announced.

A total of 430 votes were cast in the National Assembly and the Senate, with Alvi bagging 212 of them, while 131 and 81 went to Rehman and Ahsan respectively.

The PTI candidate secured 186 of the 351 votes cast in the Punjab assembly, with Rehman and Ahsan garnering 141 and six votes respectively. As many as 18 votes were rejected from the Punjab Assembly.

In the Balochistan Assembly, Alvi secured 45 of the 60 votes, and the rest went Rehman’s way. Not a single vote was registered for Ahsan.

Ahsan garnered 100 votes in the Sindh Assembly, while Alvi secured 56. One vote was registered in Rehman’s favour.

In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Alvi bagged 78 votes of the total 109, while 26 and 5 went Rehman’s and Ahsan’s way respectively.

In his victory speech, Alvi said, “I am grateful to God that the PTI-nominated candidate has been successful in the presidential race today. I am also thankful to Imran Khan for nominating me for such a big responsibility.” He also stated he hoped that “fortunes of the poor” are turned around during his five-year term.

President-elect Alvi will succeed outgoing President Mamnoon Hussain and assume office on September 9.