ISLAMABAD: Voting is underway in legislatures to elect the 13th president of the country in a three-way contest as the ruling party candidate, Dr Arif Alvi, is assured an easy win owing to failure of the opposition parties to field a joint candidate.
There are 706 votes in the Electoral College and 354 votes are needed to win the coveted post.
The polling began at 10am and will continue without break till 4pm. Members of the both house of Parliament and four provincial assemblies are casting their votes in the election.
Two polling booths have been set up in the National Assembly as Chief Election Commissioner Sardar Raza and Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Anwar Kasi are discharging their responsibilities as returning officer and presiding officer for the presidential election, respectively.
The polling is also underway at the Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhhwa and Balochistan assemblies where the chief justices of the respective provinces have been appointed as presiding officers.
As many as 1,121 legislators will cast their votes in the election to the top constitutional office of president.
