Pir Muhammad Sadiq Qureshi, the Pir of Luari Sharif, on Saturday, congratulated president-elect Asif Ali Zardari on his successful election as the head of state.

PPP co-chairman Zardari, who was backed by a nine-party coalition including the PML-N, swept the election with 411 votes, defeating PkMAP’s Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who was supported by the PTI-Sunni Ittehad Council. Achakzai managed to get 181 votes.

The Pir of Luari Sharif visited Zardari in Islamabad and felicitated him on the latter’s success. Also accompanying the Pir of Luari Sharif were Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority Chairman Kabool Mohammad Khatian and Rais Ghulam Qadir Marri.

The visit came after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced the PPP co-chairman’s victory in the election.

In a statement issued by the electoral watchdog on behalf of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja earlier, the ECP said presidential polls were carried out in Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar and Islamabad.

It added that the results prepared by the presiding officers from all five locations were received at the ECP secretariat.

“The total number of seats in the electoral college was 1,185 out of which 92 were vacant […],” the ECP said. “The remaining 1,093 voters were to exercise their right to vote.”

The election commission highlighted that 1,044 votes were cast of which nine were declared invalid. “Thus, the total number of valid votes cast is 1,035.”

It concluded that the official Result of Count on Form-VII shall be prepared and forwarded to the federal government tomorrow after receipt of the original record from the presiding officers.