November 22, 2008	Saturday	Ziqa'ad 23, 1429

PESHAWAR, Nov 21: The Businessman Forum, Pakistan, retained its dominance over the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Friday, as all of its candidates running for the executive committee were elected unopposed after the opponent group, Businessman Panel, announced boycotting the elections scheduled for Saturday.

SCCI’s election committee chairman Sufi Bashir Ahmad Durrani told Dawn that voting for 16 executive committee seats would be held as per the schedule on Saturday whether the candidates turned up for it or not.

However, Adnan Jalil, general secretary of the Businessman Panel, expressed dissatisfaction over the election process, saying: “Neither our candidates nor voters will take part in it.”

The Businessman Panel’s decision will make the entry of all the 16 candidates of Businessman Forum, headed by Senator Ilyas Ahmad Bilour, into the SCCI possible.

This year elections are being held for 16 executive committee seats -- eight each from corporate and associate categories.

In case of boycott, those elected unopposed against corporate seats are Ahsan Rashid Gorwara, Maqsood Anwar Pervez, Kamran Shafi, Malak Iftikhar Ahmad, Mohammad Luqman Shah, Mohammad Ishaq, Umer Khan Zakori and Riaz Arshad. Likewise, candidates elected against associate group seats are Dr Khushal Khan, Faiz Mohammad, Hidayatullah Khan, Mohammad Arshed, Mohammad Nadeem, Mohammad Waris, Shaukat Ali Khan and Sharafat Ali Mubarik.

Controversies over the voter list marred the SCCI election process this time at the very beginning, when the election committee, comprising of all the members from the ruling Businessman Forum, rejected nomination papers of 10 candidates of the opponent Businessman Panel on technical grounds.

After that, the candidates approached the director general of the Trade Organisation, who accepted their appeals and declared them eligible to contest the elections on Nov 15.

But the Businessman Panel decided to stay away from the election process and take remedy from the court because “the group has not been given much time to campaign for its candidates”.

“The director general, Trade Organisation, gave judgment in our favour on Nov 15, but the election committee declared them eligible on Nov 18 that shows their mala fide intentions to keep us away from the election,” remarked Mr Jalil.—Bureau Report