What is the process of presidential election in Pakistan?

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced March 9, 2024, as the date for the election of the new President of the country, as the incumbent head of the state has completed its five-year tenure.

An electoral college will choose a new president for the country.

What is the Electoral College for the presidential election?

The electoral college for the election of the president consists of six houses, i.e., the Upper House of the Parliament (Senate), the Lower House of the Parliament (the National Assembly), and the assemblies of four provinces, i.e., Punjab, Sindh, Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan. Over 1100 members of all these six houses will vote in the presidential election; however, the weightage formula is not simple.

Weightage formula:

The President represents the Federation of Pakistan. Hence, all the provincial assemblies have an equal say in the election of the president.

Under a weightage formula laid out in the second schedule of the Constitution, votes in the provincial assemblies are divided by the total strength of the smallest provincial assembly, that is, Balochistan. This means 371 votes of the Punjab Assembly will be divided by 65, the total seats in the Balochistan Assembly. It gives us a weightage score of 5.71 after rounding off.

In other words, 5.71 votes polled in favor of a candidate in the Punjab Assembly mean a single vote. Ballots cast in the Senate and National Assembly are counted in the usual way, that is, one valid ballot paper cast in favor of a candidate means one vote.

One ballot paper is issued to each of the lawmakers in the Senate, National Assembly, and four provincial assemblies. The names of the candidates are written in alphabetical order on the ballot papers. The election is held by a secret vote as mandated by the Constitution. The polling for the presidential election is held at the Parliament in Islamabad and four provincial assemblies in Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, and Peshawar.

The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) will be the returning officer for the election of the presiding. The CEC appoints presiding officers to conduct the polling. The candidate securing the highest number of votes becomes the president of the country. The result is announced by the CEC, which also notifies the federal government, which issues a notification.

The Chief Justice of Pakistan administers the oath to the president.