ISLAMABAD, October 6 (RIA Novosti) - Pakistan's current President General Pervez Musharraf leads in the country's presidential election, a spokesman for the Information Ministry said Saturday.
According to unofficial results, Musharraf gained 252 votes of the Senate and National Assembly deputies out of overall 442, the spokesman said.
Musharraf's presidential term ends on November 15. His nomination was filed by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
On Tuesday Musharraf nominated Lieutenant General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani the new Army commander, as the current president had pledged earlier to give up his military title if he was reelected.
The opposition parties earlier vowed to boycott the election and promised to resign from parliament and assemblies of all four provinces if Musharraf is reelected.
General Pervez Musharraf seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999. After the 2002 parliamentary election, Musharraf retained his presidential and military titles, as well as the right to dissolve parliament and dismiss the government.
The presidential election in Pakistan's Islamabad, where high security measures were introduced recently, will be followed by parliamentary elections.
Two exiled former prime ministers - Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto - have already expressed their intention to run for seats in the new parliament.
Bhutto, who leads Pakistan People's party, earlier said she was planning to return home on October 18, after more than eight years of self-imposed exile.
Sharif returned to Pakistan on September 10, but was deported to Saudi Arabia shortly after his plane had touched down at Islamabad airport.
