03 September 2018•Update: 04 September 2018
By Islamuddin Sajid
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan
Pakistani lawmakers are set to choose a new president of the country for the next five years on Tuesday.
The incumbent President Mamnoon Hussain’s five-year term will end on Sept. 9.
According to the election authorities, voting will be held in the upper and lower houses of the parliament, and all four provincial assemblies from 10 a.m. local time (0500GMT) to 4 p.m. local time (1100GMT).
In Pakistan, president is a symbol of the federation and head of the state, who is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, but exercise powers on the recommendations of the prime minister.
The president is elected through a secret ballot by the electoral college. The electoral college comprises of the Senate, National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies.
Three candidates are running for the office of the president, among them are the ruling party's Pakistan Tereek-e-Insaf and its allies’ nominee Dr. Arif Alvi, while Pakistan People Party's candidate is Aitzaz Ahsan. Other opposition parties have fielded Muttahida Majlas-e-Amal’s President Maulana Fazlur Rehman as their presidential candidate.
The ruling party is confident to easily win the election as opposition parties are divided.
"PTI candidate Dr. Arif Alvi will surely win the election with the lead of 30 to 35 votes," Senator Faisal Javed, a central leader of PTI, told state-run-media.
