By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

Less than two months after hard-fought general elections, national and regional legislators in Pakistan are due to elect a new president on Sept. 4, election officials announced Thursday.

Nominations for president -- the ceremonial head of state -- can be filed through Aug. 27, while the final list of candidates will be published on Aug. 30, Pakistan’s Election Commission announced.

Voting will be held in the National Assembly building in the capital Islamabad and all four provincial assemblies buildings on Sept. 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (0500-1100GMT).

The president is elected through a secret ballot by an electoral collage made up of members of Pakistan’s Senate, National Assembly, and all four provincial assemblies.

The five-year term of President Mamnoon Hussain, 78, is set to end on Sept. 9. Hussain was nominated by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), former three-time Premier Nawaz Sharif's party, in 2013.