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O 221052Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8450
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RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 002797 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PK PREL PINR KJUS
SUBJECT: SEPTEMBER 6 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: A PRIMER 
 
REF: 07 ISLAMABAD 4064 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: A 30-day clock to elect a new president 
commenced August 18 when President Pervez Musharraf resigned 
from office.  He had served less than a year into his second 
term, after a controversial and contested re-election on 
October 6, 2007.  Pakistan's president is elected indirectly 
by an electoral college of the Senate, National Assembly, and 
four Provincial Assemblies; the election has been set for 
September 6.  The nomination, scrutiny, and election schedule 
will allow the coalition parties time to negotiate a possible 
candidacy by Pakistan People's Party Co-Chair Asif Zardari, 
as well as other issues, such as restoration of the deposed 
judges.  End summary. 
 
Step One 
- - - - - 
 
¶2. (U) When will the presidential election occur?  Pakistan's 
Election Commission (ECP) has set September 6 for the 
election to replace former President Pervez Musharraf.  The 
ECP also announced that nomination papers can be submitted 
starting August 26 and that any withdrawals must occur by 
August 30.  The ECP will scrutinize nomination papers, i.e., 
judge candidates' eligibility, on August 28. 
 
¶3. (SBU) This schedule gives the coalition government -- 
Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz 
(PML-N), Awami National Party (ANP), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam 
(JUI-F) -- two weeks to settle on its candidate.  PPP's 
Co-Chair Asif Zardari has announced his interest, and the 
setting of an election date indicates his confidence that he 
can win the presidency, even without the PML-N's support. 
Musharraf's Pakistan Muslim League (PML) might also nominate 
a candidate. 
 
¶4. (U) Who can nominate presidential candidates?  Any member 
of the Senate, National Assembly, or the four Provincial 
Assemblies can nominate candidates for president.  The 
nomination must be seconded by another member and consented 
to, in writing, by the candidate.  The Chief Election 
Commissioner oversees the presidential election process. 
 
Qualified/Disqualified 
- - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶5. (U) Who can qualify as a presidential candidate and who 
decides if a candidate is qualified?  Presidential candidates 
must be Muslims of at least 45 years of age and meet the 
qualifications to become a member of the National Assembly. 
The Chief Election Commissioner makes the final qualification 
decision during a day of "scrutiny," set for August 28.  The 
Supreme Court, though, ultimately has the power to overrule 
the Commissioner's decisions. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Pakistan's Constitution outlines numerous 
qualifications under Article 62 that a candidate must meet; 
it lists even more reasons for disqualification under Article 
¶63.  Both articles, for instance, mention that a candidate 
convicted of a crime of moral turpitude is ineligible for 
office.  Because, in Pakistan's history, military and 
civilian administrations have arrested, charged, and 
sometimes convicted their political rivals for corruption (a 
crime of moral turpitude), many potential presidential 
candidacies, including PPP's Zardari or PML-N's Nawaz Sharif, 
could be challenged in court.  (Note: Challenges to 
Musharraf's candidacy in 2007 were based on other legal 
issues related primarily to his serving concurrently as 
President and Chief of Army Staff.) 
 
A New President 
- - - - - - - - 
 
¶7. (U) What if only one candidate is nominated or qualifies? 
Is there still an election?  If the Chief Election 
Commissioner determines during his scrutiny that there is 
only one eligible candidate, he immediately declares that 
candidate as president.  If there is more than one eligible 
candidate after the deadline for candidates' withdrawals has 
passed, the Chief Election Commissioner proceeds to hold the 
 
ISLAMABAD 00002797  002 OF 002 
 
 
election. 
 
¶8. (U) Who votes for president?  Members of the Senate (100), 
National Assembly (342), and the Provincial Assemblies of 
Punjab (371), Sindh (168), Northwest Frontier Province (124), 
and Balochistan (65).  The separate tallies from the four 
Provincial Assemblies are weighted such that each receives 65 
votes in the electoral college.  When added to the Senate's 
and National Assembly's votes, the electoral college numbers 
¶702. 
 
¶9. (U) What will happen on election day?  The Senate, 
National Assembly, and four Provincial Assemblies, 
separately, each hold secret ballots.  After the poll, 
ballots are returned to the Chief Election Commissioner, who 
counts the votes and declares the winner.  The candidate with 
a simple majority (first past the post) wins.  There is no 
constitutional provision for delaying presidential elections 
due to resignations by parliamentarians or abstentions by 
political parties. 
 
¶10. (U) Can the results of a presidential election be 
challenged?  Article 41(6) of the Constitution states: "The 
validity of the election of the president shall not be called 
in question by or before any court of other authority." 
 
PATTERSON