Pakistan: Political parties name presidential candidates

Islamabad: Pakistani political parties have nominated their candidates for the upcoming presidential elections with the ruling party’s candidate seen as the front-runner. Tariq Azeem, a spokesman for the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N party, says the party on Wednesday nominated Mamnoon Hussain, a former governor of southern Sindh province. In Pakistan, the president is elected not by a popular vote but by voting in the Senate, National Assembly and the assemblies of the four provinces. A senior ruling party member, Raja Zafarul Haq, says the election will be held on July 30. He says it was originally scheduled for 6 August, but the Supreme Court accepted the party’s request that the date be changed. President Asif Ali Zardari’s term expires in early September. Associated Press