Mamnoon Hussain elected 12th President of Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Mamnoon Hussain, the candidate of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), was elected on Tuesday as the 12th President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan for the next five-year term.

President-elect Mamnoon Hussain will take oath of his office on September 8, 2013. The constitutional tenure of the incumbent President, Asif Ali Zardari, is set to expire on the same date.

According to Electoral College results announced by the Chief Election Commissioner, Hussain secured 432 Electoral College votes from Parliament, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, while his opponent PTI candidate Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed secured 77 votes.

According to the breakup of votes, Mamnoon Hussain clinched 277 votes from Parliament; 54.14 from Punjab Assembly, 24.76 from Sindh Assembly; 21.49 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and; 55 from Balochistan Assembly.

Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed bagged 34 votes from Parliament; 4 from Punjab Assembly; 1.9 from Sindh Assembly; 36.17 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and 01 from Balochistan Assembly.

The polling for the presidential election was held simultaneously in the Parliament and provincial assemblies which were pronounced polling stations at the outset of their respective proceedings today.

It may be mentioned here that Mian Raza Rabbani, the presidential candidate of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), had boycotted the polls following its rescheduling by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in compliance with the orders issued by the Supreme Court on PML-N’s petition.

PPP’s candidate Rabbani was of the view that the new schedule would not leave sufficient time for campaigning in the four provincial capitals and in Islamabad.

Mamnoon Hussain’s profile

Originally a businessman, Mamnoon Hussain started his politics as a Muslim Leaguer in 1969.

At the time, he was made joint secretary of the Karachi chapter of the League when former minister of state for foreign affairs Zain Noorani was its president.

He has done MBA from the prestigious Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi as well as Darse Nizami course. Mamnoon Hussain originally hails from Agra (India).

Mamnoon Hussain has his textile business and office in Allahwali Market Karachi.

He was seen actively involved in the PML-N since 1993 when Nawaz Sharif was in the opposition.

Before Mamnoon Hussain was appointed governor of Sindh by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999 to serve in this position for less than six months, he worked as advisor to the provincial chief minister (Liaquat Ali Jatoi) for an insignificant portfolio.

After the promulgation of military rule in October 1999, Mamnoon Hussain firmly stood with Nawaz Sharif when multitudes of PML-N leaders simply abandoned their party.

During all this period starting in 1993, Mamnoon Hussain has held different positions in the Sindh branch of the party. However, he would leave the PML-N post after his election as president. His son holds a senior executive post in the Citibank.

Chronological list of Pakistan's heads of state with tenures:

1. Iskander Mirza (23 March 1956 to 27 October 1958)
2. Ayub Khan (27 October 1958 to 25 March 1969) (two terms)
3. Yahya Khan (25 March 1969 to 20 December 1971)
4. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (20 December 1971 to 13 August 1973)
5. Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry (14 August 1973 to 16 September 1978)
6. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (16 September 1978 to 17 August 1988)
7. Ghulam Ishaq Khan (17 August 1988 to 18 July 1993)
8. Farooq Leghari (14 November 1993 to 2 December 1997)
9. Muhammad Rafiq Tarar (1 January 1998 to 20 June 2001)
10. Pervez Musharraf (20 June 2001 to 18 August 2008) (two terms)
11. Asif Ali Zardari (9 September 2008) (Incumbent)