LAHORE: The Lahore Gymkhana’s Committee of Management (COM), which has an evenly-split mandate, on Monday finally decided that the candidates nominated by both panels will serve as the committee’s chairmen for a six-month term each.

The Salman-Misbah panel and Monopoly Breakers’ panel led by Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera had bagged six seats each in the 12-member COM of the Lahore Gymkhana.

The Gymkhana elections were held on Feb 14 to elect a new committee for the calendar year 2026. Since then, a debate on running of the elite club’s affairs had been on amongst the 12 elected members, but a couple of meetings held in this regard remained inconclusive.

In the latest meeting held at Gymkhana committee room on Monday, the members agreed that the nominated candidates – Salman Siddique and Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera – would chair the committee for six months each. However, it is yet to be decided that who will have the stint first.

“Both the nominated candidates will meet on Tuesday (today) and mutually decide, who will serve first,” Mr Sukhera told Dawn on Monday.

He says the Gymkhana witnessed an election `tie’ again after some 30 years, adding that a similar situation had arisen in 1996, when former chief secretary Parvez Masood was elected as club chairman for being the senior most amongst the winning candidates -- most of whom were serving civil servants.

“This year’s, however, is an altogether different situation because seven out of 12 members are retired federal secretaries and six members have already served as Gymkhana chairmen,” Mr Sukhera says.

Broadly speaking, he says, the panels exist for the sake of elections and now all elected members should serve the club members who voted for them. “We have plans to establish committees with mutual understanding to run the club’s affairs in a smooth manner,” he adds.

While three panels had contested the 2026 election, as many as 3,158 club members, of a total 5,600, had exercised their right to franchise.

The candidates, who were elected as COM members, are: Salman Siddique, Mian Misbahur Rehman, Wajid Aziz Khan, Sarmad Nadeem, Mian Parvez Bhandara, Ms Samaira Nazir, Dr Ali Razaque, Kamran Lashari, Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera, Dr Jawad Sajid Khan, Tasneem Noorani and M Ziaur Rehman.

As many as 39 candidates had participated in the election for 12 COM seats.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2026