LAHORE, Sept 24: The PIAF-Founders Group Alliance on Wednesday won all four chamber class seats, sweeping the first round of LCCI election-2003 and defeating its rival —- the Founders —- with a huge margin.

According to unofficial results, a record 762 votes were polled out of 965, making it the highest ever turnout election in the history of the chamber. Out of the total votes polled, 12 were declared invalid.

Alliance candidate Mian Misbahur Rehman polled a record 528 votes. He was followed by Irfan Qaiser with 494 votes, Nauman Kabir with 483 and Abdul Basit with 428.

The alliance’s victory is being attributed to the Aptma votes bagged by its candidates as a result of the efforts of Aptma-Punjab senior vice-chairman Mian Adil Mahmood, sitting LCCI executive committee and Aptma member Khalid Rafiq and Aptma member S.M. Tanvir. They are said to be instrumental in tilting the balance in favour of the alliance as far as Aptma voters are concerned.

In fact, Khalid Rafiq is being tipped as next president of the Lahore Chamber if the PIAF decides to elect its own candidate from the chamber class for the next term instead of giving a chance to the Founders Group.

Umar Farooq Khwaja of the Founders bagged 318 votes, Khurshid Alam 296, Tanvir Ahmad 220 and Azhar Paracha 204. The result of election to one trade group seat has been withheld.

The polling for four associate class seats will take place on Thursday. There are around 7,88 registered voters in the associate class.

The activists of the PIAF-Founders Group Alliance celebrated their victory by dancing to the tunes of drums and raising slogans.