LAHORE: PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has congratulated Asif Zardari on becoming president and said it was the victory of the democratic process.

He said a president who entered the President House through a constitutional process after eight years of dictatorship symbolised the success of democracy.

He said it was unfortunate that four generals had occupied the country for 33 years through misuse of military authority.

He said the election of Zardari as president through seeking votes from parliament and the federal units in accordance with the constitutional process was a good news for the democratic forces.

"The rival candidates of Asif Zardari also used their democratic right. The PML-N accepts the win of Zardari and congratulates him," he said.

"We expect from Zardari that he will prove himself a true symbol of federation, rising above his political affiliations strictly in accordance with the Constitution and democratic norms," he added.

Nawaz said the win of Zardari would pave the way for many democratic reforms, which were otherwise impossible in the presence of a dictator.

He appealed to Zardari for restoring the deposed judges, including deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, to the position of pre-November 3, 2007 for eliminating the illegal steps of a dictator.

He was hopeful that every section of ìCharter of Democracyî would be implemented.

He said it was not simply a matter of abolishing 58(2)b but scrapping all those steps, including the 17th Amendment and implementing agreed constitutional reforms, which were pledged in the Charter of Democracy.

He assured Zardari of his complete support for strengthening democracy.

Meanwhile, the PML-N parliamentarians have termed the victory of Zardari the success of democratic process and urged him to implement the Charter of Democracy.

The PML-N parliamentarians reacted cautiously on Zardari's victory and avoided giving any conflicting statements.

PML-N Central Secretary Zafar Iqbal Jhagra while talking to The News congratulated Zardari on becoming president.

He said with the election of the president's office, the parliament had been completed because the president was part of the parliament. He demanded of Zardari to adopt a clear policy on the war on terror.

PML-N Vice-President Zafar Ali Shah said the president would have to bring changes in the internal and foreign policies of the country.

Muhammad Anis adds from Islamabad: The PML-N said the newly-elected President, Asif Zardari, should resign as the PPP's co-chairman and member of the party to maintain the non-partisan and non-political status of the constitutional office of the president.

Talking to The News, PML-N Central Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal said under the Article 41 of the Constitution, the president was a symbol of the federation and a non-political personality, while the prime minister was a political personality and the chief executive of the country.

Ahsan said since the 1973 Constitution was made, it had been a tradition that every president after his election resigned from the basic membership of his party so that he could act as a symbol of the federation.

"We hope that Zardari would quit as the PPP co-chairman and its (the partyís) membership as well," the PML-N leader said.

"After being elected, former presidents Farooq Leghari, Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Rafiq Tarar also resigned from their party memberships," he added.

He reiterated that the prime minister and the chief ministers were political personalities while the presidency, according to the Constitution, was a non-partisan and non-political slot.

"If Zardari does not keep this tradition, there will be dichotomy between the slots of the prime minister and the president," he added.

Responding to a question, Ahsan said the results of the presidential election proved that the PML-N enjoyed huge majority in the Punjab Assembly and as such, it was its right to rule the province.

"We accept the PPP mandate at the Centre and they should respect our mandate in the Punjab," he added.

Agencies add: PML-N presidential candidate Justice (retd) Saeeduzaman Siddiqui while talking to reporters after the announcement of the result of the presidential polls congratulated Zardari.

The PPP's responsibilities have multiplied with the election of its co-chairman as the president, he said.

He added that the country was passing through defining moments of its history, which demanded that political leadership should take concrete steps for strengthening democratic institutions and benefit the people.

"I hope Zardari will tackle all the challenges with wisdom," he said.

The PML-N accepted its defeat in the presidential election, saying it hoped that winner Zardari would be "apolitical" as the head of state.

"We accept the results and we hope Zardari will resign from his party position immediately," Kh Saad Rafiq told reporters after the election.

Javed Hashmi has asked Zardari to quit the post of the co-chairman of his party after his election as the president. Talking to the media in the capital on Saturday, the PML-N leader said Zardari had been accused of not fulfilling his political promises and now he had the chance to improve his image by taking all his friends in confidence.

PML-N parliamentary leader Ch Nisar Ali said the manner in which judges were being restored was wrong. He said this while talking to reporters in front of the Parliament House.