August 4, 2002	Sunday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 24,1423

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 3: Mian Azhar was re-elected as PML-QA president on Saturday here with an overwhelming majority in the intra-party elections marred by the allegations of irregularities in the preparation of general council members’ list.

Ijazul Haq, the only challenger, did not turn up at the polling venue nor any of his supporters came to attend the event.

When asked about boycott from Ijazul Haq, party Chief Election Commissioner Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said: “He had promised in his conversation by telephone to reach by 11am, but he never came for unknown reasons”.

Against the backdrop of controversy emerging on Ijazul Haq’s candidature and fears of disruption or disorder, the polling went smooth as no untoward incident took place.

There were complaints of irregularities in the list of voters as many of those present in the PML House were allowed to cast their votes irrespective of his name on the list, eye witnesses said.

Chaudhry Shujaat said Azhar polled 493 votes as against his arch rival Ijazul Haq’s 17 votes out of 523 total polled from a list of 706 members of the general council with 13 having been rejected.

The new entrant Iftikhar Gilani was elected senior vice-president along with Majeed Malik. The party also elected Zafarullah Jamali unopposed from Blochistan as party secretary-general with 29 vice-presidents and 21 joint secretaries while Syeda Abida Hussain retained the office of information secretary.

Tariq Badruddin Banday was elected as the finance secretary, Azeem Chaudhry as organising secretary, Sikandar Hayat Malhi as secretary overseas with an 80-member central executive committee.