Voting to elect new president 'will be held' between March 6 and 9

The voting to elect a new president will be held on any day from March 6 and 9, sources in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) confided to 24NewsHD TV channel on Saturday.

According to these sources, the ECP has readied the schedule for holding the presidential election which will be released soon.

The ECP has proposed to hold the election on any day between March 6 and 9.

As per the Article 41 of the Constitution, it is mandatory to hold presidential election within 30 days of conducting general elections.

The ECP sources said the schedule for presidential is mostly likely be released after the convening of the newly-elected National Assembly.

The presence of electoral college is compulsory for releasing the schedule for the presidential election, the sources added.

The president of Pakistan is chosen by an electoral college which under Article 41(3) of the Constitution consists of Senate, the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies of the four provinces – Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Incumbent President Arif Alvi's five-year term as President of Pakistan was ended on 9 September 2023. However, he is continuing to stay in office until he is replaced by a successor, a newly-elected president, after the general elections as mentioned in Article 44 of the Constitution.

Earlier on February 21, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had announced that Asif Ali Zardari will be their joint candidate for the presidential slot. 

There were also reports that voting for Senate elections will also be held in early March followed by the presidential election.

It is pertinent to mention here that 52 senators will retire on March 11 after the completion of their six-year term.

Reporter Usman Khan