LAHORE: The Vision Alliance won all 15 Associate Class seats in the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) elections. Its rival, the PPBA Alliance, won none in Thursday’s polling, which strengthens the Vision Alliance’s hold on the city’s most influential business body.
The chamber’s election commission declared that the Vision Alliance polled 4,525 panel votes against 3,470 for the PPBA Alliance, a margin of 1,055. Vision Alliance supporters celebrated at the chamber gates after the announcement.
The Associate Class has 19,787 eligible voters, and 9,748 of them cast ballots, a turnout of about 49%. A third contender, the PIAF Mian Shafqat Group, drew 49 panel votes. The commission declared 305 votes invalid and counted 1,363 as split votes. These are ballots divided among candidates from different panels instead of cast for one group’s full slate.
The election commission was headed by Khalid Gujjar and Sajjad Afzal. It supervised the polling, announced the final results, described the environment as peaceful and praised the participating groups for their conduct.
Thursday was the second and final day of the election. In Wednesday’s Corporate Class vote, The Lahore Times reported provisional results giving the Vision Alliance 12 of 15 Executive Committee seats. The PPBA Alliance won the other three seats, and its chairman, Mian Anjum Nisar, questioned the vote count, with the alliance’s candidates formally seeking a recount. The commission said the election record had been sealed in the presence of observers from the Directorate General of Trade Organisations (DGTO), the government body that regulates chambers and trade associations.
If the provisional figures hold, the Vision Alliance now controls 27 of the 30 elected Executive Committee seats across both classes. The committee also includes two seats reserved for women entrepreneurs.
Hafiz Muhammad Sajjad, CEO of Hafiz Sajjad Motors, told The Lahore Times that the Associate Class sweep followed the alliance’s success in the Corporate Class. He said Ali Hussam Asghar had been elected President of the Lahore Chamber. Asghar was the alliance’s presidential candidate and topped the Corporate Class poll with 1,700 votes.
Sajjad said voters on September 24 had decisively ended what he called a 27-year “arrogant reign” that served only personal interests. He said the result would ensure the chamber truly serves Lahore’s business community.
Mian Faryad Ahmed, Deputy Secretary Information of the Founder Group, told The Lahore Times that the Vision Alliance had won a “magnificent victory” in both classes. He congratulated Ali Hussam Asghar and his team. He put the alliance’s Associate Class tally at 4,523 panel votes with a lead of 1,053, figures marginally different from the commission’s.
Speaking during polling on Thursday, he said: “Alhamdulillah, first of all, I am very thankful to our workers, our voters, and our supporters. Yesterday, Alhamdulillah, we achieved a clean sweep, and today our enthusiasm is even stronger and fresh… After a decisive electoral win, InshaAllah, we will deliver on our commitments as promised.”
The PPBA leadership had not publicly responded to the Associate Class result at the time of publication.
When a The Lahore Times journalist asked whether the new leadership would restrict the opposition, shut the chamber’s gates on it or expel its members, Ali Hussam Asghar rejected the idea outright.
“That is out of the question; the opposition will have to deal with me first—what will they even say? As of today, the election is over,” he said. “I have no personal feud with anyone; I hold the mandate for Lahore. The election is concluded—whether it is the opposition or anyone else.”
He described his role as serving the entire membership rather than one camp. “Ali Hussam is the representative of Lahore’s business community; he serves as both their protocol officer and their lawyer,” he said.
His remarks were more conciliatory than some of his supporters’ comments on the outgoing leadership. They also matter in practice. For instance, under the provisional results, the PPBA Alliance holds three Corporate Class seats on the Executive Committee, and its recount request is still pending. How the new leadership treats that minority bloc, and the recount, will be an early test of its promise to govern the chamber for all members.
The LCCI was founded in 1923. Its elections are fought between rival business alliances, and this year’s contest came from a realignment. In 2024, Mian Anjum Nisar’s PIAF, Ali Hussam Asghar’s Pioneer Businessmen Group and the Progressive Group formed a joint alliance for the chamber polls. That alliance swept all 15 Associate Class seats with 3,775 panel votes to its rivals’ 2,227, and also swept the Corporate Class.
PIAF later ended the partnership with the Pioneer group, and a new opposition coalition grew around Asghar. For 2026, PIAF joined the Progressive Group and the Business National Front to form the PPBA Alliance, chaired by Mian Anjum Nisar.
The electorate has also grown. In 2024, 7,500 votes were cast out of 13,699 in the Associate Class. This year the class had nearly 44 percent more registered voters, and about 30% more ballots were cast.
The run-up to the vote was contested in court as well. On September 22, the Lahore High Court (LHC) disposed of a petition challenging the conduct of the elections after the parties reached an agreement on the disputed issues.
Voting was interrupted by intermittent commotion, which created a tense atmosphere at the chamber. Police intervened in time to keep order and bring the situation under control.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Operations Lahore Faisal Kamran visited the LCCI on Thursday to review security for the election. He inspected the deployment and told personnel on election duty to remain alert and vigilant. He also ordered foolproof security for citizens and members of the business community visiting the chamber, and directed officers to monitor the arrangements continuously. The DIG has overseen similar citywide security operations in recent weeks.
The new leadership faces a heavy economic agenda. During the campaign, Vision Alliance candidate Mardan Ali Zaidi pledged to compile data from industrial zones and present an evidence-based case against high electricity and gas tariffs to the federal government and power regulators. Earlier this week, foreign direct investment fell 32% to $1.7 billion, which adds pressure on business bodies to push for policy reform.
The PPBA Alliance, shut out of the Associate Class but holding three Corporate Class seats, is expected to reassess its strategy. Its recount request in the Corporate Class is still pending.
-With additional reporting by Staff Reporter
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