PPP accepts Pakistan election results as Zardari greets nation

Pakistan's outgoing ruling party, which faced defeat in the May 11 elections, Monday announced that it accepts polls results despite "serious reservations".

Pakistan Peoples Party was placed fourth with 30 seats in term of securing National Assembly seats announced so far. The party could not secure any seat in two of the four provinces and bagged most of seats in southern Sindh province.

"Although the party has serious reservations about the fairness of the polls it has accepted the results in the larger interest of political stability, democracy and the welfare of the people of Pakistan," said Makhdoom Amin Faheem, the party's president, in a statement, reported Xinhua.

The PPP's main rival, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led by former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, has emerged as the single largest party in the National Assembly.

Fahim called upon the Election Commission of Pakistan to look into all the complaints the party has lodged with it and redress the same in accordance with the law.

"Having accepted the verdict of the people, the PPP will continue to play a robust role in and out of parliament to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions in the country," he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has felicitated the nation on the holding of elections to mark the first democratic transition in the country, the presidential spokesman said Monday.

Spokesperson, Senator Farhatullah Babar, said that the president while felicitating the nation said that the holding of elections in accordance with the Constitutional provisions was triumph of the people, of democracy and of the system put in place for democratic transition.

The president also felicitated all the national institutions and individuals who worked hard to make possible the holding of this gigantic exercise which is so vital for the strengthening of democracy.

"The people of Pakistan have spoken through the ballot," Zardari further said.

The president expressed the hope that the next phase of democratic transition, namely the smooth transfer of power in accordance with the will of the people as expressed by them through the vote, will also be completed soon in accordance with the Constitution, said Babar.