The Independent group, commonly known as Asma Jahangir group, on Thursday secured victory in the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections for the third consecutive year, with Haroonur Rashid elected as the new president and Zahid Aslam Awan elected secretary.

According to unofficial results, Rashid won by a comfortable margin over his rival, Taufiq Asif of the Hamid Khan-led Professional group. Rashid secured 629 votes from Lahore, while Asif secured 431 votes. The nearly 200-vote lead from Lahore proved decisive in ensuring Rashid’s overall victory.

The break-up of votes at other polling stations for Rashid and Asif is 120 and 101 at Quetta, 135 and 115 at Multan, 55 and 15 at Sukkur, 27 and 23 at Swat and 25 and 5 at Bannu, respectively.

Both presidential candidates were from Islamabad/Rawalpindi since the top slot this year was reserved for the federal capital as per a rotation policy.

For the secretary’s position, Zahid Awan bagged 595 votes, defeating Mian Irfan Akram, who received 442 votes at the Lahore registry polling station.

Across the country, 13 polling stations were set up, including Lahore, Multan, Bahawalpur, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar, and Hyderabad, among others.

Of these, the SCBA Lahore Registry was designated as the largest polling centre, where 20 polling booths were established. Over 1,400 lawyers were expected to cast their votes at the Lahore Registry alone.