Election time: 2,160 out of 4,300 Gymkhana votes cast

LGC in trouble due to new memberships.

LAHORE:

As many as 2,160 out of more than 4,300 eligible voters exercised their right to vote to elect 12 members of the Lahore Gymkhana Club’s Committee of Management on Saturday.

Polling started at 9am and continued till 5pm with a half hour lunch break.

Most of the voters were prominent retired and serving bureaucrats, businessmen, judicial officers, retired army officers, professors, doctors and agriculturists. Parking became a problem and motorists had to face problems on The Mall and Zafar Ali Road, despite additional deployment of traffic wardens.

Despite the low temperatures, most members were enthusiastic. Supporters of the two panels lined the passage from the parking lot to the polling booth.

Out of the 75 female members, only 20 to 25 cast their vote.

The club management had reserved right to entry for the day to the voters and their families only. Guests and the media were not allowed.

The election commission comprised Justice (retd) Allah Nawaz Chohan, Asad Ali Khan and former Sindh police inspector general Jehangir Mirza.



Salman Siddique panel included Mian Misbahur Rahman, Mian Pervaiz Bhandara, Kamran Lashari, Sardar Murad Khan, Justice (retd) Sajjad Ahmed Sipra, Agha Ali Imam, Pervaiz Bashir Agha, Sarmad, Shafqat Rana, Khwaja Imran Zubair and Ehsan Qadar.

The Ziaur Rahman panel included Dr Zahid Pervaiz, Samiur Rahman, Dr Atif Kazmi, Khalid Rafique, Mian Javed Zahoor, Khawar Khursheed, Major (retd) Fayyaz Bashir, Shaukat Javed, Mohammad Arif Khan, Khwaja Sohail Iftikhar and Miss Sumaira Maroof Khan.

Qamar Bobby, Nasir Arshad, Malik Muzaffar, Qazi Moeenuddin and Kazim Ali were contesting the poll independently.

One of the campaign issues was the various ways senior members view the ‘lowering of standards and violations of discipline’.

Several senior members requesting anonymity told The Express Tribune too many people had been granted memberships leading to issues for discipline and dress code. They said two recent chairpersons had not strictly followed the rules while allowing new memberships. “The club is like home,” they said only educated and well-mannered persons could be LGC members.

Some said that in 2012, then chairperson Zia had granted permanent memberships to about 100 applicants. Some of them were obliged out-of-turn. ‘Regular’ and ‘associate’ members use all club facilities but are not eligible to vote.

The issue was raised at the annual general meeting but no action was recommended to rectify the situation.

Ziaur Rahman had granted ‘associate’ memberships during his 2003-4 tenure for the first time. Later, Salman Siddique granted ‘regular’ and ‘associate’ memberships to about 700 applicants in 2005-7.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2012.