BNP-led 18-party alliance backed candidate Professor MA Mannan is set to be the first mayor of the recently established Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) winning a hard-fought election battle against 14-party alliance supported candidate Azmatullah Khan. Perhaps no other civic body elections generated so much heat and nationwide interest like the GCC election which emerged as a prestige issue for both the ruling AL and the opposition BNP specially after the stunning victory of the BNP-backed candidates in all the four city corporations last month .
The counting of votes began after an hour of the polling that ended at 4:00pm. According to the unofficial results of 320 polling centres out of total 392, BNP- backed candidate Professor MA Mannan got 255,321 votes and his rival AL- backed candidate Azmat Ullah got 152,020 votes.
However, till 1:30am results of 202 centres were announced from the office of the Returning Officer. According to this result, Mannan got 183,539 votes while his rival Azmat bagged 132,347 votes.
Azmatullah, who had been mayor of the Tongi municipality for consecutive three times was never defeated in any elections in the last 18 years, has also failed to win in his own polling centre this time.
Ajmat Ullah has been defeated at his own polling centre with the margin of 110 votes.
Ajmat Ullah has bagged 710 only votes at his own polling centre Little Flower Kinder Garten School while the BNP-led 18-party candidate M A Mannan gained 820 votes.
Besides, M A Mannan bagged 1234 votes at his own polling centre Salna Islamia Fajil Madrasa where the Awami League backed candidate Ajmat Ullah gained 413 votes.
After completion of the polling Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Raquibuddin Ahmad said, the election was free and fair. He urged the candidates to accept the result of the election.
According to the election commission the voter turn out was 60 per cent.
Barring stray incidents, election to the Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) ended peacefully on Saturday.
Returning officer Matiar Rahman said 55 per cent voters had exercised their franchise till 3 pm. However, the total turnout was expected to be around 65 per cent.
Voting began at 392 polling centres at 8 am amid tight security and the counting began half an hour after the voting ended at 4 pm.
Rahman told The Independent that voting passed off peacefully. “We did not receive any report of untoward incidents from any polling station,” he said.
Since early morning, large number of voters, especially the young and women, stood in queues to cast their votes. A spell of rain in the afternoon
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failed to dampen the spirit of the voters.
In some booths, however, voters alleged slow polling. “I have been standing in the queue for almost three hours. I have lots of work at home,” Rahima Khatun, a voter at the Dewra Primary School centre said.
At the same centre, a 55-year-old woman fell unconscious due to exhaustion as she was standing in the queue for a long time.
Presiding officer Abul Bashar said: “The polling officers and staff were on duty for the first time. Finding the serial number of voters was proving to be difficult at times.”
The two main mayoral candidates — the AL-led alliance-backed Azmat Ullah Khan and the BNP-led alliance-backed Professor MA Mannan, both in the fray for the first time — expressed the hope that they would clinch victory in the country’s largest city corporation election.
Azmat Ullah cast his vote at the Little Flower School near Tangi Bazar at about 8:45 am, while Mannan cast his vote around 9:25 am at the Shalna Islamia Fazil Madrasa. “Voting was peaceful and I am sure of my victory. However, I will accept the people’s verdict as I believe voice of the people is the voice of God,” Azmat Ullah said after casting his vote.
Replying to a question, he said no one could manipulate the election process as the media is vigilant.
He left home at 8:15 am and visited the mazar of Syed Hazrat Shah Sufi Haji and offered fateha at his father’s grave.
Mannan said he would win with a big margin if it is held in a free and fair manner. He, however, expressed doubts about free and fair election because of some influential ruling party leaders and officials. Mannan alleged that law enforcers conducted raids on the houses of his supporters and harassed them on Friday night. “They arrested three of my supporters from the Board Bazar area,” he added.
The Election Commission had declared 235 centres as vulnerable and beefed up security measures. Some 12,000 members of law enforcement agencies had been deployed to ensure free and fair polling. Besides, 19 teams of the Striking Force, each with an executive magistrate, 28 teams of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and 12 platoons of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) had been deployed. There were 57 police teams in 57 wards, in addition to 10 judicial magistrates. There was a scuffle between supporters of Azmat and Mannan at the Government Girls’ College polling centre at 11 am. But the police and BGB intervened to bring the situation under control.
However, tension prevailed at “sensitive” centres. But no major incident was reported till filing of this report in the evening.
Kazi Shakir Shithil, a polling agent of Azmat, was removed from duty for allegedly influencing voters to cast their votes in favour of Azmat at the Ashraf Textile Mills centre in Tongi ward No.57.
As many as seven candidates — 14-party-supported Azmat Ullah Khan, 18-party backed MA Mannan, Mezbah Uddin Sarker, Aman Ullah, Rina Sultana, Jahangir Alam and Nazim Uddin Ahmed — are contesting for the mayor’s post. Later, Jahangir withdrew from the fray and extended support to Azmat.
About 25 per cent votes were cast out of 2,500 voters at tha Little Flower School centre at 11 am.
It was alleged that Chhatra League and Juba League activists brought out a procession in front of the Shaheed Smriti High School around 12 pm in the presence of law enforcers.
Md Nasir, an 18-party supporter, alleged that agents of Mannan were driven out of the Khailpur Bogartek Primary School centre.
As many as 466 candidates are contesting for the post of councillors, in addition to 126 seats reserved for women.
A total of 1,026,964 voters — 499,181 men and 527,783 women — were expected to cast their votes to elect the city’s first mayor, as well as 57 councillors and 19 women councillors (reserved). The Gazipur City Corporation was formed on January 7 while the poll schedule was declared on May 22.
-With The Independent input
