Rules and regulations: Gymkhana elections might be delayed

Joint Stock Companies registrar wants polls after every three years.

LAHORE: The Joint Stock Companies registrar has directed the Lahore Gymkhana Club secretary to amend Articles of Association regarding elections and tenure of club directors saying that these are contrary to the Companies Ordinance 1984.

The registrar had written a letter to the club secretary on January 14 advising him not to hold elections in contravention of Section 180 of the Companies Ordinance that states that an elected member shall hold office for three years unless he resigns before that or becomes disqualified to be a member.

The Committee of Management (CoM), in its extraordinary meeting on December 22, 2014, had approved an article proposing that CoM members should be elected for a year. The proposal was sent to the registrar for approval.

Traditionally, annual elections are held during the last week of December to elect 12 CoM members.

The CoM had received a similar letter in December 2013 when the election campaign was in full swing, but that letter was not taken seriously, the members The Express Tribune spoke to said.

Three panels – one headed by business tycoon Mian Misbahur Rehman and two led by retired bureaucrats Kamran Lashari and Tasneem Ahmed Noorani – are preparing to contest annual elections.

Rehman, the incumbent CoM chairman, said the committee would meet on Saturday to discuss the registrar’s instructions.

“All 12 CoM members will have to resign to hold elections now,” Rehman said. “Elections cannot be held if one of the members refuses to resign.” Mian Samiuddin, one of the candidates from Noorani’s panel, accused Rehman and the registrar of disputing elections. “This is a conspiracy to delay polls. We will protest against this at a forum,” he said.

He said club members would send a resolution to the registrar for holding elections early. “The incumbent CoM members have been elected for a year. Letting them continue to run the club affairs for another two years is not justified,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2015.