Newly elected National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Sunday called a joint session of Parliament on March 9 to elect the next President of Pakistan.
It is almost certain that former President Asif Ali Zardari will be re-elected as President after almost 11 years. According to a notification issued on Sunday, the Speaker has called the session at 10 am.
Zardari, 68, faces competition from his rival, ethnic Pashtun politician Mahmood Khan Achakzai.
Zardari is the joint candidate of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Achakzai (75) has been made a candidate for this post against Zardari.
Pashtunkha Milli Awami Party (PKMAP) chief Achakzai has won the National Assembly seat from NA-266 constituency in Balochistan’s Kila Abdullah-cum-Chaman.
His nomination papers for the presidential election were filed in the Islamabad High Court on Saturday and scrutiny of the nomination papers will take place on Monday.