ISLAMABAD: Asif Ali Zardari, husband of Benazir Bhutto, who took over as leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) after her assassination in December 2007, was elected Pakistan’s President on Saturday amid demands that he give up the powers of the office and step down from his party post.
With the PPP the single largest party and assisted by its alliance with smaller parties, Mr. Zardari was elected with 481 votes of 702 in the electoral college comprising the two Houses of Parliament and four provincial assemblies.
It gave him an overwhelming 69 per cent of the votes in the three-way race. Leaders of both the PPP and the Opposition Pakistan Muslim League (N) Nawaz Sharif described the election as a “victory of democracy.”
"Today’s peaceful election marks another step towards the transition to democracy that Shaheed Mohtarma [Benazir Bhutto] was committed to. She strongly believed that a system advocating people’s rule is the destiny of Pakistan and is worth every sacrifice,” Mr. Zardari said in a message after his election.
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