(New Delhi) – Former Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is elected as Indian president after votes from national and state lawmakers were counted in the race for the mainly ceremonial post. Mukherjee, 76, collected 69 percent of the votes, easily beating his only rival P.A. Sangma, 64, a former lower house speaker and tribal leader from the remote northeast who was backed by the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.
“I would like to thank the people of this great country for conferring this distinction by electing me to this high office,” Mukherjee told crowds of cheering supporters gathered outside his residence in New Delhi. “They have entrusted me with the responsibility to protect, to defend, to preserve the constitution as president of the republic”, he added.
