"Pakistan's Presidential Election 2024: Navigating Constitutional Provisions and Political Dynamics"

The Presidential Election of Pakistan 2024 is expected to take place no later than 9 March 2024 to elect the incoming President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Dr. Arif Alvi was elected as Pakistan's head of the State on 4 September 2018 after bagging a lion's share of votes with 353, followed by Maulana Fazl ur Rehman with 185 with Ch. Aitzaz Ahsan coming in last with 124 votes in the light of provisions of paragraph 18 of the second schedule of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Despite the fall of the PTI government, he remained in office under the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led coalition government even though he had completed his term on 08 September 2023. In addition, due to the fact that the Electoral College for the election of the President was not completed during this time after the dissolution of Provincial Assemblies, he appeared to be in this position.

According to the Article 41 of the Constitution, the President shall be elected in accordance with the provisions of the Second Schedule by the members of an electoral college consisting of the members of Senate and National Assembly as well as the members of the four Provincial Assemblies.

Election to the office of President shall be held not earlier than sixty days and not later than thirty days before the expiration of the term of the President in office: Provided that, if the election cannot be held within the period aforesaid because the National Assembly is dissolved, it shall be held within thirty days of the general election to the Assembly. The validity of the election of the President shall not be called in question by or before any court or other authority.

Subject to the Constitution, the President shall hold office for a term of five years from the day he enters upon his office. Provided that the President shall, notwithstanding the expiration of his terms, continue to hold office until his successor enters upon his office.

Furthermore, a person holding office as President shall be eligible for re-election to that office, but no person shall hold that office for more than two consecutive terms. The President may, by writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker of the National Assembly, resign his office.

According to the Article 45, the President shall have power to grant pardon, reprieve and respite, and to remit, suspend or commute any sentence passed by any court, tribunal or other authority.

According to the Article 49, If the office of President becomes vacant by reason of death, resignation or removal of the President, the Chairman or, if he is unable to perform the functions of the office of President, the Speaker of the National Assembly shall act as President until a President is elected in accordance with clause (3) of Article 41.

As stated in the Second Schedule of the Constitution, the Election Commission of Pakistan shall hold and conduct election to the office of President, and Chief Election Commissioner shall be the Returning Officer for such election. The Election Commission of Pakistan shall appoint Presiding Officers to preside at the meeting of the members of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) and at the meetings of the members of the Provincial Assemblies. The Chief Election Commissioner shall by public notification fix the time and place for depositing nomination papers, holding a scrutiny, making withdrawals, if any, and holding the poll, if necessary.

At any time before noon on the day fixed for nomination any member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) or of a Provincial Assembly may nominate for election as President a person qualified for election as President by delivering to the Presiding Officer a nomination paper, signed by himself as proposer and by another member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) or, as the case may be Assembly as seconder, together with a statement signed by the person nominated that he consents to the nomination.

Provided that no person shall subscribe, whether as proposer or as seconder, more than one nomination paper at any one election. The scrutiny shall be held by the Chief Election Commissioner at the time and place fixed by him, and if after scrutiny only one person remains validly nominated, the Chief Election Commissioner shall declare that person to be elected, or if more than one person remains validly nominated, he shall announce, by public notification, the names of the persons validly nominated, to be hereinafter called the candidates.

?A candidate may withdraw his candidature at any time before noon on the day fixed for this purpose by delivering a notice in writing under his hand to the Presiding Officer with whom his nomination paper has been deposited, and a candidate who has given a notice of withdrawal of his candidature under this paragraph shall not be allowed to cancel that notice. If all but one of the candidates have withdrawn, that one shall be declared by the Chief Election Commissioner to be elected.

If there is no withdrawal, or if, after withdrawals have taken place, two or more candidates are left, the Chief Election Commissioner shall announce by public notification the names of the candidates, and their proposers and seconders, and shall proceed to hold a poll by secret ballot. The poll shall be taken at the meetings of Majlis-e Shoora (Parliament) and of each Provincial Assembly, and the respective Presiding Officers shall conduct the poll with the assistance of such officers as they may, with the approval of the Chief Election Commissioner, respectively appoint.

A ballot paper shall be issued to every member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), and of each Provincial Assembly, who presents himself for voting at the meeting of the members of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) or, as the case may be of the Provincial Assembly of which he is a member (hereinafter referred to as a person voting), and he shall exercise his vote personally by marking the paper. The poll shall be by secret ballot by means of ballot papers containing the names of all the candidates in alphabetical order who have not withdrawn, and a person voting shall vote by placing a mark against the name of the person for whom he wishes to vote.

Ballot papers shall be issued from a book of ballot papers with counterfoils, each counterfoil being numbered; and when a ballot paper is issued to a person voting his name shall be entered on the counterfoil, and the ballot paper shall be authenticated by the initials of the Presiding Officer. A ballot paper having been marked by the person voting shall be deposited by that person in a ballot box to be placed in front of the Presiding Officer. If a ballot paper is spoiled by a person voting he may return it to the Presiding Officer, who shall issue a second ballot paper, cancelling the first ballot paper and marking the cancellation on the appropriate counterfoil.

After the close of the poll each Presiding Officer shall, in the presence of such of the candidates or their authorized representatives as may desire to be present, open and empty the ballot boxes and examine the ballot papers therein, rejecting any which are invalid, count the number of votes recorded for each candidate on the valid ballot papers, and communicate the number of the votes so recorded to the Chief Election Commissioner. Where at any poll any two or more candidates obtain an equal number of votes, the selection of the candidate to be elected shall be by drawing of lots.

When, after any poll, the counting of the votes has been completed, and the result of the voting determined, the Chief Election Commissioner shall forthwith announce the result to those present, and shall report the result to the Federal Government, who shall forthwith cause the result to be declared by a public notification. The Election Commission of Pakistan may, by public notification, with the approval of the President, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Schedule.

The Chief Election Commissioner shall determine the result of the election in the following manner, namely the number of votes cast in the Majlis-e Shoora (Parliament) in favour of each candidate shall be counted; the number of votes cast in a Provincial Assembly in favour of each candidate shall be multiplied by the total number of seats in the Provincial Assembly for the time being having the smallest number of seats and divided by the total number of seats in the Provincial Assembly in which the votes have been cast.

When, after any poll, the counting of the votes has been completed, and the result of the voting determined, the Chief Election Commissioner shall forthwith announce the result to those present, and shall report the result to the Federal Government, who shall forthwith cause the result to be declared by a public notification. The Election Commission of Pakistan may, by public notification, with the approval of the President.