Lahore Bar elections: Candidates resent ban on pricey campaigns
Rules ban lunches, pamphlets and processions ahead of elections but past administrations have tolerated them.
LAHORE:
Most candidates for various offices, including that of the president, of the Lahore Bar Association have protested against a ban on holding luncheons, distributing campaign literature through pamphlets and taking out processions on court premises.
Only two of the seven contestants for the office of vice president supported the ban. Malik Faiz Khokhar and Mian Shahzad Hassan said lawyers who were earlier reluctant to stand in bar elections because of the huge expenditures on hosting lavish lunches and dinners will be encouraged to contest.
Those who opposed the ban, however, said that even though such activities were not allowed under the LBA rules, none of the administrations preceding the incumbent one had ever taken the ban seriously. They said throwing lunches and hi-teas ahead of bar elections had always been considered fair. They said such gatherings helped candidates gauge their chances.
LBA elections are scheduled to take place in January 2012. With a ban on lunch or hi-tea gatherings, processions and distribution of handbills, candidates are left only with personal meetings with lawyers to woo them to their side.
Nauman Qureshi, candidate for the office of president, said holding luncheons and hi-teas was a convenient way of attracting voters. Qureshi said with the ban this year election campaign had become very difficult.
Chaudhary Zulifqar, another presidential hopeful, said ban on such activities made little sense. He said distribution of pamphlets and stickers was essential to any election as it allowed candidates to reach out to a wider audience.
Amir Iqbal Basharat, the third candidate for the office of president, holds similar views on the ban. He said he saw little, if any, benefit coming out of the ban.
Nasreen Ijaz, Ubaidur Rehman Gondal, Rana Javaid Bashir Khan, Riaz Bhatti (Model Town) and Agha Shazib Masood (Model Town), candidates for the office of vice president, also opposed the ban.
LBA general secretary Farhad Ali Shah said the decision would benefit lawyers who refrained from contesting elections only because they did not have the money to fund their campaigns. “It will make elections more affordable,” Shah said.
LBA president Shahzad Hassan Shaikh said the administration was determined not to let anyone flout the ban. He said those found guilty of violating the election rules would lose their LBA membership.
Besides the three candidates for the office of president, five lawyers are contesting the elections for vice-president, two for vice-president at the Model Town seat, five for secretary, two for joint secretary and two for finance secretary.
Agha Shahzaib Masood, a candidate for vice-president for the Model Town seat, and Qadir Nawaz Ranjha, candidate for general secretary, recently tendered an apology to the LBA after notices were issued to them on holding lunches for their supporters.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 21st, 2011.
Most candidates for various offices, including that of the president, of the Lahore Bar Association have protested against a ban on holding luncheons, distributing campaign literature through pamphlets and taking out processions on court premises.
Only two of the seven contestants for the office of vice president supported the ban. Malik Faiz Khokhar and Mian Shahzad Hassan said lawyers who were earlier reluctant to stand in bar elections because of the huge expenditures on hosting lavish lunches and dinners will be encouraged to contest.
Those who opposed the ban, however, said that even though such activities were not allowed under the LBA rules, none of the administrations preceding the incumbent one had ever taken the ban seriously. They said throwing lunches and hi-teas ahead of bar elections had always been considered fair. They said such gatherings helped candidates gauge their chances.
LBA elections are scheduled to take place in January 2012. With a ban on lunch or hi-tea gatherings, processions and distribution of handbills, candidates are left only with personal meetings with lawyers to woo them to their side.
Nauman Qureshi, candidate for the office of president, said holding luncheons and hi-teas was a convenient way of attracting voters. Qureshi said with the ban this year election campaign had become very difficult.
Chaudhary Zulifqar, another presidential hopeful, said ban on such activities made little sense. He said distribution of pamphlets and stickers was essential to any election as it allowed candidates to reach out to a wider audience.
Amir Iqbal Basharat, the third candidate for the office of president, holds similar views on the ban. He said he saw little, if any, benefit coming out of the ban.
Nasreen Ijaz, Ubaidur Rehman Gondal, Rana Javaid Bashir Khan, Riaz Bhatti (Model Town) and Agha Shazib Masood (Model Town), candidates for the office of vice president, also opposed the ban.
LBA general secretary Farhad Ali Shah said the decision would benefit lawyers who refrained from contesting elections only because they did not have the money to fund their campaigns. “It will make elections more affordable,” Shah said.
LBA president Shahzad Hassan Shaikh said the administration was determined not to let anyone flout the ban. He said those found guilty of violating the election rules would lose their LBA membership.
Besides the three candidates for the office of president, five lawyers are contesting the elections for vice-president, two for vice-president at the Model Town seat, five for secretary, two for joint secretary and two for finance secretary.
Agha Shahzaib Masood, a candidate for vice-president for the Model Town seat, and Qadir Nawaz Ranjha, candidate for general secretary, recently tendered an apology to the LBA after notices were issued to them on holding lunches for their supporters.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 21st, 2011.