In the upcoming presidential election in Pakistan scheduled for March 9, ٍSardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan Nasir, the supported candidate of various political parties, is set to face Mehmood Khan Achakzai, the candidate of the Sunni Ittehad Council. The election will witness the participation of members from the four provincial assemblies, the Senate, and the National Assembly, who will collectively elect the new president of the country.
The election process, as stipulated by the Constitution, designates the Chief Election Commissioner as the Returning Officer. Polling will take place from 10 am to 4 pm in the National and Provincial Assemblies. During the voting process, voters will mark their preference by placing a cross with a special pencil in front of their chosen candidate’s name on the ballot paper.
The presidential election operates through an Electoral College system, wherein the votes of members from the National Assembly, the Senate, and the Balochistan Assembly are aggregated. If the total votes fall short, they are adjusted by multiplying with the total voters of the Balochistan Assembly and dividing by the total voters of the respective assembly, yielding the votes for the respective candidate.
Voters must carry identity cards issued by the National and Provincial Assembly and Senate Secretariat for verification.
If a voter inadvertently marks the ballot paper in a way that identifies them, crosses out the candidates, or fails to mark the cross correctly, the vote will be considered invalid.
Upon the conclusion of voting, the presiding officer will open the ballot boxes in the presence of candidates or their representatives. They will inspect the ballot papers, discard invalid votes, tally the valid votes, and seal the votes obtained by each candidate in separate bags.
The Presiding Officer will record the results on Form 5 and transmit them to the Returning Officer, the Chief Election Commissioner.
The candidate with the highest number of votes will be declared the President of Pakistan. In the event of a tie, the decision will be made by a random draw.
