Chances are bleak for Zardari to complete full five-year Presidential term

Lahore, Sept 6 : PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari's ascendancy to the presidency seems to be a foregone conclusion as MNAs and MPAs in Pakistan cast their votes to elect the country's next President, but chances of Zardari completing his full five year term are bleak if one goes by the country's political history.

In the past 61 years after Separation, none of the seven presidents Pakistan had, could complete his full five year term.

According to the Daily Times, though Fazal Elahi completed five years in office (from Aug 14, 1973 to Sept 16, 1978), but technically his term remained incomplete as he had to resign after the military took over government in the wake of a dispute over general elections, and "there was no formal handing over of power."

Only the three military-dictators-turned-Presidents -- Ayub Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf -- completed their full terms. But all three of them failed to complete their second successive term.

The seven civilian Presidents Pakistan had in the past six decades are -- Iskandar Mirza, Yahya Khan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Fazal Elahi Chaudhry, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Farooq Leghari and Rafiq Tarar.

Pervez Musharraf was the third military ruler to complete his presidential tenure. He seized power in 1999, ousting Nawaz Sharif and imposed emergency in the country. On November 3, 2007, he again imposed emergency and forced senior judges to leave office. However, he left the armed forces, handing over the office to Gen Ashfaq Kayani in November 2007.

The PML-Q was defeated in February 2008 elections and PML-N and PPP won a decisive victory. Both of the latter parties asked for Musharraf's resignation and he resigned on August 18, 2008 at which point Chairman Senate Mohammadmian Soomro became acting president.

ANI