ISLAMABAD, May 10: President Asif Ali Zardari, who will be in Bilawal House in Karachi on the polling day, cast his vote in his hometown of Nawabshah through postal ballot on Friday.

However, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will remain in Dubai and not cast his vote. He is reported to have been advised not to return to the country because of security threats.

“The president cast his vote today and it will be received by the Election Commission on Saturday,” President Zardari’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.

The Election Commission (ECP) has already rejected the application of Mr Bilawal to cast his vote through postal ballot.

According to the Representation of People Act 1976, only government officials, prisoners, army personnel and those who are engaged by the ECP for election duty can cast their votes through postal ballot.

“No other person, except those who fall in these four categories, is eligible to cast his/her vote through postal ballot,” ECP spokesman Khursheed Alam told Dawn.

But Mr Babar claimed that the president had the right to cast his vote through postal ballot. “Not only the president but any other citizen can also exercise this right through postal ballot,” he said.