UK Member of Parliament for Glasgow Govan (1997 - )
Councillor, Glasgow District Council (1992-1995), Glasgow City Council (1995 - 1997)
Member,
Labour Party, (1984 - 1997, 1998- )
Mr Sarwar, standing for the Labour party, was elected in the May 1997 General Election with a 44% of the votes cast in the constituency, a majority over the SNP of 2,914.
There was controversy right from the start, as scuffles broke out at the count, largely from supporters of the British National Party - Sarwar is Britain's first Muslim MP.
There were also allegations of voting irregularities, and a warrant for Mr Sarwar's arrest was issued later that year, and he was subsequently suspended from the Labour Party. In legal proceedings which lasted over a year, he was cleared of charges of fraud and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
It was alleged that he had bribed a rival independent candidate to drop out of the running in the election, although Mr Sarwar claimed that the large amount of cash handed to the independent candidate Badar Islam, in a brown envelope, in a supermarket car park was just a loan to help a fellow Muslim pay off a gambling debt. There were also concerns over the late registration of voters.
Mohammed Sarwar was born in Pakistan in 1952, and has a degree in Political Science from the University of Faisalabad. He is married, and has four children.
In the UK General Election 2001, Mr Sarwar increased his majority over the SNP to 6,400, taking about 50% of the votes cast.
references: BBC News Online - http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/candidates/candidates/2/26806.stm
BBC Election 97 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/election97/candidates/1575.htm