The Muslim News

Muslim councilor seeks to replace Cook

25-08-2005

London, IRNA:

A Muslim local councilor is contesting to stand for the ruling Labor Party's candidate to fight the by-election cause by the sudden death of former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook three weeks ago.

Hanzala Malik, who is the convener of the Development and Regeneration Services Committee in Glasgow, is among a shortlist of five candidates drawn up from an original field of 40 by the local constituency party in Livingston, central Scotland.

The shortlist includes Jim Devine, Cook's former election agent, who is expected to be favorite, as well as John Duncan, who was a constituency aide to late former Foreign Secretary.

The other two are both local councilors in the area, Willie Dunn and John McGinty.

Although no date has yet been set for the by-election, but Labor is set to finalize its candidate at a local constituency meeting on Thursday night.

At the last general election in May, Cook increased his majority over the second-placed Scottish National Party (SNP) in Livingston to more than 13,000 votes.

Malik was chosen as a Labor candidate for the last elections to the Scottish Parliament in 2003, but stood no chance of being elected after being placed only fourth on the party's top-up list.

Muslim members of Britain's main parties have frequently complained about being under-represented in national politics and have often tended to blame the selection process for candidates.

Labor is the only party with four Muslim members in the 646-seat House of Commons.

All of the other parties have yet to select a Muslim candidate for a winable seat.