Democratic right: High turnout at Lahore Press Club elections

Polling continued from 9am to 7pm.

LAHORE:

Elections for the Lahore Press Club were held at the Alhamra Hall on Monday.

The polling opened at 9am in the morning and continued till 7pm.

The atmosphere was one of celebration, with candidates’ supporters frquenlty shouting slogans ostensibly to garner votes for their camps. The stairs to the hall, where the polling booth were fixed, were full of candidates and their supporters throughout the day.

Banners, placards and stickers for various candidates were pasted on the surrounding walls. Some of the candidates and supporters handed out cards with pictures printed on them. Others resorted to more creative measures, such as playing a guitar.

A campaigner for the Progressive Panel was dressed up as groom, complete with a turban and a traditional necklace decorated with money. Another was dressed as a beggar and was literally begging for votes. The Journalist Panel used hot tea to lure voters to their side.

The Journalist Panel had nominated Arshad Ansari as their presidential candidate and the Progressive Panel Najam Wali Khan.

Journalists representing the Progressive Panel campaigning for their candidates (left) Hundreds of journalists and their supporters thronged Alhamra Hall, The Mall, to cast their votes. PHOTO: ABID NAWAZ/EXPRESS

Talking to The Express Tribune, Mian Khalilur Rehman, a senior reporter at Jehan Pakistan, said that membership of the club had expanded considerably in recent years. “This is evident through the various campaigning methods and techniques used before the election.

Members are relying less on personal interaction with candidates and more on recorded calls and automated messages to access a large number of people,” he said.

The Progressive Panel used the slogan: Vote for Change. The Journalist Panel that has been in power for several years.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Rana Azeem, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists president, said that Khan, the presidential candidate for the Progressive Panel, had vowed to ensure job security for members.

The main election issue though seemed to be the plots to be allotted in Block F of the Journalists Colony, a recurring theme for the past few years.

The Journalist Panel claimed that its presidential candidate had been able to reclaim 300 kanals land previously occupied by a land mafia. The Progressive Panel alleged that it had not done enough to ensure easy allocation of plots in the block.

The results for the elections will be announced today (Tuesday).

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2014.