‘Anti-govt’ candidate seen as having edge in polls
Members say SC verdict in 18th Amendment case may have helped Ahmed Awais.
LAHORE:
The Supreme Court’s conciliatory ruling in the 18th Amendment case is likely to help the ‘anti-government’ candidate in the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections this Wednesday, according to bar members.
“Some of the candidates were waiting for a hard decision so that they could initiate the politics of agitation against that decision as a bid to attract voters,” said SCBA member Muhammad Azhar Siddique.
But the Supreme Court’s ruling, he said, had been welcomed by everyone. “It has removed all chances of politicising the issue,” he said.
The three candidates for the post of SCBA president are Asma Jehangir, Ahmed Awais and Muhammad Ikram Chaudhry. Awais is considered the ‘anti-government’ candidate while Jehangir is considered the ‘pro-government’ candidate.
Ikram Chaudhry is based in Rawalpindi and his campaign in Lahore has been non-existent. Bar members said Chaudhry appeared to have little chance to win since Lahore was the biggest SCBA centre and the winner here was likely to be the winner overall.
The pundits said that regardless of their perceived support for or opposition to the government, all three candidates would have actively engaged in anti-government protests if a report that it was considering withdrawing the notification for the restoration of judges had turned out to be true.
They said that Jehangir had performed better during the recent clashes between the Lahore Bar Association and Lahore High Court over the transfer of a sessions judge. She had actively participated in the lawyers’ boycotts and strikes.
Awais may have lost some votes, they said, as he and his supporters had condemned the LBA lawyers for attacking the court of the chief justice.
Awais may also have lost some support for condoning the SCBA president’s decision to accept money from Federal Law Minister Babar Awan, a move that was criticised by senior lawyers all over the country.
Raja Zulqarnain, the current SCBA secretary and a supporter of Awais, predicted that Awais would win by a big margin, even though, he added, the government was making various offers to lawyers to try to gain their support. He said a letter from the law ministry to all bar councils asking them to suggest lawyers for inclusion in a commission for the appointment of judges was part of this “game”.
SM Masood, former PPP federal law minister and a supporter of Jehangir, rejected the allegations, saying it was an insult to senior bar members to suggest their votes could be won in this way.
He said Jehangir had contributed a great deal to the movement for an independent judiciary and rule of law.
“She has always raised her voice for human rights and her election will bring revolutionary changes to the bar,” he said.
SCBA member Sharif Khokhar felt that the various controversies would not have a huge effect on the elections. “There will be maybe 50 voters who change their mind over these issues,” he said.
Khokhar said the fact that Jehangir was considered a pro-government candidate, and that she is a woman, would count against her. “Generally, lawyers do not like electing a woman as their representative,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2010.
The Supreme Court’s conciliatory ruling in the 18th Amendment case is likely to help the ‘anti-government’ candidate in the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections this Wednesday, according to bar members.
“Some of the candidates were waiting for a hard decision so that they could initiate the politics of agitation against that decision as a bid to attract voters,” said SCBA member Muhammad Azhar Siddique.
But the Supreme Court’s ruling, he said, had been welcomed by everyone. “It has removed all chances of politicising the issue,” he said.
The three candidates for the post of SCBA president are Asma Jehangir, Ahmed Awais and Muhammad Ikram Chaudhry. Awais is considered the ‘anti-government’ candidate while Jehangir is considered the ‘pro-government’ candidate.
Ikram Chaudhry is based in Rawalpindi and his campaign in Lahore has been non-existent. Bar members said Chaudhry appeared to have little chance to win since Lahore was the biggest SCBA centre and the winner here was likely to be the winner overall.
The pundits said that regardless of their perceived support for or opposition to the government, all three candidates would have actively engaged in anti-government protests if a report that it was considering withdrawing the notification for the restoration of judges had turned out to be true.
They said that Jehangir had performed better during the recent clashes between the Lahore Bar Association and Lahore High Court over the transfer of a sessions judge. She had actively participated in the lawyers’ boycotts and strikes.
Awais may have lost some votes, they said, as he and his supporters had condemned the LBA lawyers for attacking the court of the chief justice.
Awais may also have lost some support for condoning the SCBA president’s decision to accept money from Federal Law Minister Babar Awan, a move that was criticised by senior lawyers all over the country.
Raja Zulqarnain, the current SCBA secretary and a supporter of Awais, predicted that Awais would win by a big margin, even though, he added, the government was making various offers to lawyers to try to gain their support. He said a letter from the law ministry to all bar councils asking them to suggest lawyers for inclusion in a commission for the appointment of judges was part of this “game”.
SM Masood, former PPP federal law minister and a supporter of Jehangir, rejected the allegations, saying it was an insult to senior bar members to suggest their votes could be won in this way.
He said Jehangir had contributed a great deal to the movement for an independent judiciary and rule of law.
“She has always raised her voice for human rights and her election will bring revolutionary changes to the bar,” he said.
SCBA member Sharif Khokhar felt that the various controversies would not have a huge effect on the elections. “There will be maybe 50 voters who change their mind over these issues,” he said.
Khokhar said the fact that Jehangir was considered a pro-government candidate, and that she is a woman, would count against her. “Generally, lawyers do not like electing a woman as their representative,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2010.