Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of Pakistan’s slain first female leader Benazir Bhutto, was voted in as president for a second time on Saturday, local media reported, after elections marred by rigging claims.
Zardari was voted in with 411 votes to 181 for the opposition-backed candidate, according to a local media tally of votes by national MPs, provincial MPs and senators.
Lawmakers of Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) voted Zardari into the largely ceremonial post, backed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party in an alliance forged after the February 8 polls.
Under the terms of the coalition pact, which also includes a handful of smaller parties, PML-N’s Shehbaz Sharif was sworn-in as prime minister on Monday.
The election commission will announce the official result later Saturday, with Zardari expected to be sworn in at a ceremony on Sunday.
