ASIF Ali Zardari has secured a large win in Pakistan's presidential elections today, capping a remarkable rise from jail, exile and his wife Benazir Bhutto's assassination just nine months ago.| Rode in on his dead wife's petti-coattails ... |
"It is an historic win. It is a victory for democracy,'' said Sherry Rehman, the country's information minister and a close aide of Bhutto. "This man suffered jail for more than 11 years for the sake of democracy and today he is elected as the president of the country and it is a sign of the strengthening of democracy.''
| It's a sign of the Bhuttos making sure the PPP will be there for sonny-boy. Zardari merely serves as regent ... |
The 53 year old defeated retired chief justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui, who was backed by former premier Nawaz Sharif, and Mushahid Hussain, a close aide of former president Pervez Musharraf. He had been the clear favourite in a three-way race to take power after Musharraf's nearly nine-year rule marked by Islamic militancy and economic turmoil.
Security was tight as secret voting began shortly after 10am (1400 AEST) and ended at 3pm in the two chambers of parliament and four provincial assemblies.
Rampant militancy was underscored in the northwestern city of Peshawar, where voting was taking place, as a suicide car-bomber rammed a police checkpost, killing 16 people and wounding more than 80.