LAHORE, Jan 20: Syed Muhammad Shah of the Professional Group backed by lawyers Hamid Khan and Chaudhry Ashraf Wahla won with a huge lead the election for the president of the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) on Saturday.

Mr Shah secured 2,124 votes against his rival Zahoor Ahmad Nasir’s 916. The latter was a nominee of the Progressive Group headed by Malik Muhammad Qayyum and PPP senator Sardar Mohammad Latif Khan Khosa. Mohammad Shah had lost the same election last year.

The LBA results are another big blow to the Progressive Group after defeat in the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections in a recount last month.

Contest for the two seats of vice president and as many of secretary general was a bit close. The subordinate courts lawyers elected Khawar Bashir (1,484) as senior secretary general and Shamimur Rehman Malik (1,054) as junior, while Iftikhar Ali Bhatti (1,691) emerged as senior vice president and Mian Asmatullah as junior VP (1,430).

Ms Chanda Jamil got 1,643 votes to win the seat of joint secretary against Robinson, who got 1,420 votes. For the seat of Model Town courts vice president, Yasir Khalil got 1,633 votes and defeated Qamar Shahid, who secured 1,302 votes. Saleem Sheikh was elected as finance secretary who defeated Sajid Munawar.

Library secretary and auditor have since been elected unopposed and so is the 11-member executive committee whose members were supported through a secret ballot.

Some 7,043 lawyers of the subordinate courts had got themselves registered for the LBA polls, although the bar has a membership of over 12,000 voters.

The polling, which was earlier scheduled for Jan 13, has to be postponed for a week due to the murders of two lawyers, including additional advocate general Arif Bhindar.

This year cast and personal relationship played a dominating role in the elections in the absence of any political influence.