Pakistan Tuesday elected businessman Mamnoon Hussain as its next president. He will replace the current head of state, Asif Ali Zardari, whose presidential term expires this fall.
Mamnoon, who was nominated by the former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, won the country's presidential election with a big margin securing 432 votes against his rival's 77.
He will swear in as the 12th president of the country August 9, a day after the present president steps down as his five-year term ends.
The presidential election was just a two-way contest between Hussain of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf's Wajihuddin Ahmad. Pakistan Peoples' Party, along with other two parties boycotted the elections, saying they were not given much time to campaign after the country's election commission preponed the polling date from August 6 to July 31 over the Supreme Court's orders on PML-N's request, according to the sources.
Around 148 votes were not polled as a result of the boycott.
Mamnoon resigned as the member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N soon after the announcement of the election result in a bid to establish himself as a neutral president.
The president in the country is indirectly elected by members of both houses of the parliament and the four provincial assemblies.
The next president would literally be a powerless leader as the current president relinquished all powers through a constitutional amendment in 2010, making the post relatively ceremonial.
However, when Asif Ali Zardari was elected as the president 2008, he had power over the appointment of military leaders, dissolution of national and provincial assemblies and removal of prime minister.
