PESHAWAR, Nov 8: A total of 27 candidates have filed their nomination papers for the upcoming elections of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), indicating a tough contest between two rival groups.

According to information issued by the election and scrutiny committee of the SCCI, the polling for four vacant executive committee seats will be held on Nov 29 for which two groups — the Businessmen Panel and the Progressive Businessmen Forum — have fielded their candidates.

The Businessmen Panel, a group of traders and industrialists headed by former FPCCI vice-president Faiz Rasul Khan, has been boycotting the elections for the last couple of years, leaving the ground open for the ‘reigning’ Progressive Businessmen Forum, led by Senator Ilyas Ahmad Bilour.

This time, however, opposition group’s enthusiasm could be judged from the fact that it has filed the nomination papers of 17 candidates for four vacant seats, apparently to ensure maximum presence in case nomination papers of some of its nominees are rejected on technical grounds.

“We fear that the nomination papers of some of our potential candidates will be rejected mainly to keep us out of the election process, which is why we have fielded more than four candidates against each vacant seat,” said Nauman Wazir of the Businessmen Panel.

Liaqat Ahmad Khan, SCCI President and member of the Progressive Businessman Forum, tried to dispel this impression and clarified that the election committee of the SCCI was independent and the whole electoral process would be completed in a transparent manner.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Khan said they believed in democracy and would contest the forthcoming election in the same spirit.

The Businessmen Panel’s nominees are Adnan Jalil, Khalid Sultan Khwaja, Malak Niaz Mohammad, Dr Saeed, Imtiaz Ahmad, Ghulam Dastgeer, Dr Umer Zakori, Qaiser Aziz, Niaz Ahmad Naz, Haji Mamoor Khan, Shah Afzal Shinwari, Riaz Arshad, Sahibzada Abdus Salam, Syed Wajahat Shah, Ashfaq Ahmad, Shahid Iqbal and Nauman Wazir.

The candidates fielded by the Progress Businessmen Forum are Naeem Shahzad, Ehsan Rashid Gorwara, Maqsood Anwar Pervaiz, Malak Iftikhar Awan, Adnan Inayat, Abid Salam, Usman Bashir Bilour, Hasnain Khurshid, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Mohsin Wadood.

Scrutiny of the nomination papers will take place on Nov 10. The last date for withdrawal is Nov 22, following which the final list of candidates will be issued.

Elections for the offices of president, senior vice president and vice president will be held on Dec 10.

The newly-elected cabinet will assume charge of their offices on Dec 31 at a general body meeting.