Game of gowns

False claims, pre-poll rigging, misguiding announcements – young doctors play dirty

The elections of Young Doctors Association (YDA) in Mayo Hospital Lahore, scheduled for January 20 have been marred by confusion at eleventh hour as one of the contesting groups is claiming that election has been postponed while the other one is determined to go to polls.

The election camps of both groups were highly charged on Tuesday, a day before the election, as they chanted slogans in the favor of their respective candidates. The two parties were ready for the elections on Tuesday, but then one of the groups led by Dr Shoaib Khan Niazi floated a message through social media announcing that the elections had been delayed till January 25 on the court’s orders. According to details, two members of YDA Dr Inamullah Barki and Dr Umair Rana were terminated by the university after they beat a senior professor a few months ago. Both young doctors had filed a case in the court demanding their restoration. Coordinator of the Shoaib Niazi group Dr Muhammad Umair told Pakistan Today that the court had issued a stay order and said that there would be no election till January 25. There was another twist in the tale after it emerged that one of the candidates for the slot of the president had issued a registration card to a young doctor even before being elected to the office. Dr Umair said that Dr Sheharyar-led group was involved in pre-poll rigging with the help of central leadership of YDA.

Dr Zafarullah from the Sheharyar group told Pakistan Today that the election would be held as per schedule on January 20 at all costs. He said that the rival group led by Shoaib Niazi was trying to postpone the election by misinterpreting the court orders. The Sheharyar group also floated a video message of a lawyer in which he said that the court had not put a ban on conducting the election on January 20. He claimed that his group was in prime position to sweep the election on Wednesday as more than 1,000 young doctors were backing the group. The SHO of Gawalmandi Police Station visited the hospital on Tuesday and said that there would be foolproof security on Election Day as a scuffle might emerge between the doctors of rival groups.

The young doctor association is regarded as a pressure group in the hospital as the association has forced the university and hospital management to bend on several occasions. The doctors’ union came into being in 2008 but this will be the first ever election in the history of YDA in which the president will also be elected through the ballot.

An official of YDA central leadership Dr Usman Maan told Pakistan Today that the central leadership had gathered for a meeting and there was a high possibility that elections would be held as per schedule on Wednesday. He said that the leadership was deliberating on the issue and had not come to any conclusion.

Uncertainty prevailed over whether the election would be held on Wednesday. No official announcement had been made till the filing of this report.