Voting in postponed centres Jan 16
The 10th parliamentary polls were held on Sunday paving the way for forming a new government after January 24, in accordance with the constitution.
The polls were held against the backdrop of the opposition alliance’s boycott and blockade programme, amidst a whirl of apprehensions, tension and violence. The ruling Awami League (AL), led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, bagged 105 seats in the election, which gives the party two thirds majority to form the next government. A total of 127 AL candidates were earlier elected unopposed.
Hasina got 187,185 votes in Gopalgonj-3 constituency while her nearest contestant got only 2,430 votes. The total number of votes in this constituency was 190,645, according to the EC. She also bagged the Rangpur-3 seat by defeating Nurul Alam Mia. Hasina logged 148,599 votes while Alam received 4,959 out of 262,735 votes.
Because of the violence, the EC failed to conduct elections in eight constituencies. The commission yesterday decided that it will conduct the poll in these eight constituencies on January 16. It also transferred the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police of Gaibandha yesterday, but declined to comment on the issue. The Jatiya Party, led
by Hossain Mohammad Ershad, bagged 13 seats in the electoral race. This will enable the party’s leader to become the Leader of the Opposition in the 10th Parliament. Ershad bagged 55,453 votes while his opponent, Sabbir Ahmed, garnered 25,586 votes out of 455,620.
Following the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, the ruling party alliance and opposition parties were sharply divided on the issue of whether the election should be held under a non-party caretaker regime. Also, the Jamaat-e Islami lost its registration as a political party as its charter is contradictory to the constitution.
The newly formed Bangladesh Nationalist Front (BNF), which won one seat in the 10th Parliament, is a new innovation in Bangladesh’s election history. A group of former BNP leaders, including Nazmul Huda and Prof. Jahanara Begum, had floated the BNF on August 2012. However, Huda recently resigned from the party. Bangladesh Tarikat Federation and Bangladesh Khelafat Mozlish also picked up a single seat each for the first time.
Both the Workers’ Party of Bangladesh and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) entered Parliament for the first time following seat negotiations with the AL. The commission held elections in 147 constituencies. On December 15, a total of 153 candidates were declared elected unopposed in the 10th parliamentary poll as there were no aspirants for those seats. Of them, 127 candidates are from the ruling AL, 20 are from the Jatiya Party (Ershad), two are from the JSD, two are from the Workers’ Party, and two are from the Jatiya Party (JP-Monju).
“The names of those elected unopposed will be announced and published in the gazette, along with the names of the 147 elected candidates, within a couple of days,” said Dr Muhammad Sadik, secretary of the Election Commission.
The January 5 election was unique and different in all respect. A total of 153 candidates were elected unopposed and only 12 parties took part in the election.
In election related violence, an assistant returning officer and two Ansars were killed by the anti-election elements—the first such incident in the country’s election history.
The January 5th election also set a benchmark in voters’ turnout as it drew the second lowest figure since independence. Election Commission sources said the turnout in the 10th parliamentary polls were 39.66 per cent.
The country’s lowest turnout, 26.74 per cent, was registered in the controversial 1996 election that was boycotted by the then opposition Awami League.
According to the EC, the voters’ turnout was 53.54 per cent in 1973 election, in the 1979 election it was 51.28 per cent, in the 1986 polls it was 59.38 per cent, and in the 1988 polls the turnout was 54.93 per cent.
In the 5th parliamentary polls held in 1991, the turnout was 55.54 per cent, the turnout was 75.60 per cent in the 7th general election held in 1996, it was 74.73 in the 8th parliamentary polls held in 2001, and the country’s highest voters’ turnout was 86.34 per cent in the 2008 election held under a military-backed caretaker government.
Courtesy of The Independent
