The two contenders for the presidential race in Pakistan are Tehrik-i-Insaaf Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed (L), and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-backed Mamnoon Hussain.
Pakistani lawmakers have begun voting for a new president, whose taking office will mark an end to incumbent Asif Ali Zardariâ„¢s five-year presidency.
The polling began in the National Assembly and four other provincial centers and the Senate on Tuesday morning and will continue until 3:00 PM.
Voting for a new president comes while the main opposition party, the Pakistan Peopleâ„¢s Party (PPP), has boycotted the presidential election to show its protest against the rescheduling of the poll.
Pakistanâ„¢s High Court ordered on July 24 that the presidential election be held on July 30, after Nawaz Sharifâ„¢s Pakistan Muslim League petitioned the court to change the date of the voting, which was primarily slated for August 6 by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
The PPP earlier complained that the court did not consider the opposition, and the group was not provided with enough time to campaign.
Some 1,000 federal and provincial legislators are eligible to vote.
The ballots are reportedly to be counted immediately after the polling ends and exit poll results would be announced by the evening.
The two rivals for the presidential race are Mamnoon Hussain from Karachi, and a close ally of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed.
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Republished from: Press TV