President Arif Alvi will complete his five-year tenure on Friday. He is the fourth president in Pakistan’s history to do so.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf politician was elected president on September 8, 2018. He was the 13th president.

However, completing tenure does not automatically remove him from office as Article 44(1) allows him to stay in office until a successor is elected.

The successor cannot be elected anytime soon since the electoral college comprises the national and provincial assemblies, which no longer exist.

If Alvi chooses to resign, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani will take up the role until a new president is elected. The resignation, if tendered, will be sent to the speaker of the National Assembly.

The three presidents before Alvi who completed their tenures were Chaudhary Fazal Elahi (1973-1978), Asif Ali Zardari (2008-2013) and Mamnoon Hussain (2013-2018).

Sources said that Senator Muhammad Ali Durrani, a former information minister, met Alvi at the President House. The meeting has been described as ‘unusual’ since Durrani is not very active on the political scene.

Weeks ago, Alvi blew up a storm by claiming that he had never given his assent to amendments in the Official Secrets Act and the Army Act. He claimed that his staff had ‘undermined his will’.