All eyes are on Sylhet, Rajshahi, Khulna and Barisal, as the residents of the four divisional headquarters cast their ballots on Saturday in a fiercely contested poll to
elect four new mayors for the four city corporations.
The closely watched mayoral elections have turned out to be an acid test for both the ruling Awami League and opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) as they are likely to set the tone for the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country.
Both Awami League (AL) and BNP have unofficially nominated their preferred party candidates for the mayoral positions and engaged their high-profile leaders to campaign for them in the four cities, especially on the eve of the elections.
Curtains fell on the hectic election campaign on Thursday midnight but allegations were levelled that some candidates went so far as to even give money to voters in a desperate bid to purchase their votes.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has completed all necessary preparations for holding the polls for the four city corporations in a free, fair and credible manner, officials said.
The Independent correspondents reported from the four divisional headquarters that the local election officials on Friday started distributing electoral materials, including ballot papers, to presiding officers of their respective centres.
Voting in the four city corporations, which have a total of 1,229,786 voters, will be held from 8am to 4pm without any break. In all, 750 candidates are contesting in the polls, of whom 12 are battling it out for the mayoral posts.
The BNP-backed candidates in all the four city corporations demanded deployment of the army during the polling as they feared that the ruling party activists might be engaged in rigging the polls in collusion with the law enforcers.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) alongside police and crime-busting elite force Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) will be deployed in the vicinity of polling centres to maintain law and order.
STAFF REPORTER
AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, the candidate supported by the 14-party Grand Alliance-backed Nagorik Committee, said on Friday that he is hoping for a peaceful election, provided the Jamaat-Shibir and the Hefazat-e-Islam are kept under control. After offering Juma prayers at the Hazrat Shah Makhdum Dargah, he expressed satisfaction with the current arrangements for the RCC poll. He, however, declined to predict the outcome of the poll.
“I can’t comment on the possible result. I’m not allowed to say anything until the election is over,” he added.
BNP joint secretary general Mijanur Rahman Minu, on the other hand, seemed hopeful about the victory of the Sommilito Nagorik Forum-backed candidate, Mosaddeque Hossain Bulbul. Bulbul went to the Rajshahi Court mosque for Juma prayers. He did not say anything to reporters.
A moderate rainfall in the city on Friday damaged posters of various mayoral candidates. In the morning, officials of the Rajshahi Election Commission distributed election materials among presiding and polling officers from the Rajshahi Laboratory High School premises.
Like the lull before a storm, the city was very quiet on the eve of the Rajshahi City Corporation election. Members of different law enforcement agencies tightened security in and around the city from Thursday midnight. Thirty mobile teams, headed by one executive magistrate, have been working in 30 wards to monitor any breach of the election code of conduct. Also, 10 judicial magistrates have been deputed to ensure free and fair polls in 10 reserved seats.
Temporary security check-posts have been set up at city entrances, including Naodapara, Kasiadanga bypass road, Octroi crossing, Gourhange railgate, Shah Makhdum thana crossing, Shaheb Bazar zero point, Laxmipur crossing, Kalpana Hall crossing, Sagarpara, Sonadighi, Sadar Hospital and court premises from Thursday morning. Every passing vehicles, including motor-bikes, microbuses, private cars and autos are being checked.
The RCC election will be held at 137 centres, of which 104 have been identified as important or vulnerable by the police administration.
Special security measures have been taken at the polling centres in Binodepur, Mirjapore, Talaimari, Meherchandi, Shalbagan, Naodapara, Laxmipur, Upashahar, Vatapara, Mohishbathan, Shalbagan, Budhpara, Naodapara, Hatemkhan, Kadirganj and Assam colony areas because of their location and surrounding environment, said Rajshahi district returning officer Shuvash Chandra Sarker.
A total of 7,000 members of the police, RAB, the BGB and Ansar have been deployed at various polling centres and wards of the city to ensure law and order during the elections. Five platoons of the BGB, 450 members of RAB and 405 armed Ansar members have also been deputed at various polling centres.
SM Monir-Uz-Zaman, commissioner of the Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, declined to disclose the total number law enforcers deployed in the city. He, however, said that 24 police and Ansar members have been deployed at each vulnerable polling centre.
STAFF REPORTER
A keen contest between two mayoral candidates is in the offing for the Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) polls on Saturday. Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran is the candidate backed by the AL-led Grand Alliance, while his main competitor Ariful Haque Chawdhury is supported by the BNP-led Opposition alliance.
The Election Commission (EC) said there are 291,046 voters in the SCC, including 157,181 males and 133,865 females. About 34,000 new voters, compared to the last poll’s count, will cast their votes this year.
There will be 127 voting centres in 27 wards of the SCC. The EC has installed 907 booths at the centres. A presiding officer and an assistant presiding officer will attend every booth. Also, 1,792 polling agents will observe the voting process. Each polling booth will have only one polling agent of each candidate.
From Thursday morning, the city has been put under a security blanket. Over 3,000 policemen and 1,800 Ansar VDB members will be on duty at the voting centres. About 20 members of various forces will be on duty at every centre. There will be mobile teams, each monitoring four voting centres at a time. Police teams will patrol the areas as well.
Col. Khairuzzan, Sylhet sector commander of BGB, told The Independent that the Platoon-6 of BGB will be deployed at all voting centres during the election. A special platoon of BGB will stay in reserve, he added.
The Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP), in a special drive in the city, recovered a large amount of locally-made guns on Thursday.
SMP additional commissioner Rukon Uddin told The Independent that about 150 terrorists have already been arrested in several drives in the city, though more are still out there. About 2,600 vehicles and motorcycles were seized in the drives, he added.
Till Friday evening, all essential tools and accessories for casting votes were sent to the voting centres.
STAFF REPORTER
The Khulna City Corporation (KCC) poll will take place on Saturday, with voters exercising their franchise to elect one mayor, 31 ward councillors and 10 women councillors from reserved seats. The last mayoral election in Khulna was held on August 8, 2008.
The polling will start at 8:00 am and continue till 4:00 pm without any break. A total of 288 presiding officers, 1,428 assistant presiding officers and 2,856 polling officers have been sent to conduct the polls at 288 polling centres and 1,428 permanent and 33 temporary polling booths, according to the Election Commission’s Khulna office. There are 440,654 voters in Khulna city, 224,548 of them male and 216,106 female.
Three candidates are contesting for the mayoral post. They are 14-party Grand Alliance-backed Talukder Abdul Khaleque, 18-party Opposition alliance-backed Moniruzzaman Moni and Jatiyo Party-backed Shafiqul Islam Modhu. A total of 181 candidates are in the fray for the 31 posts of ward councillor, while 45 female candidates are contesting for the 10 seats reserved for women.
The Election Commission (EC), in consultation with the Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP), has identified 202 polling centres, out of 288, under the jurisdiction of five police stations as “risky”.
KMP Commissioner Md Shafiqur Rahman said: “We’ve prepared a ward-wise list of vulnerable centres, taking into account previous records of violence. We’re fully aware of the need to hold a free and fair election,” he added.
Following the EC’s instructions, strong security measures have been taken to hold the polls in a peaceful manner. According to the deputy commissioner (DC) of the KMP Special Branch, Rasida Begum, more than 9,000 members of different law enforcement agencies have been deployed in the city and at 288 polling centres for the day of election. She said 24 law enforcers would be present at all “risky” centres, while 22 security personnel would be deployed at each of the remaining centres. Besides, 31 mobile teams of the police, BGB, Armed Police Battalion (APBN) and RAB-6 would patrol the city. Two police teams would patrol the nearby river routes. Also, 30 executive and judicial magistrates would be engaged to assist law enforcement agencies in maintaining peace. The returning officer (RO) for the KCC election, Mostafa Faruque, told reporters that if any allegation of violation of election rules is proved against any candidate or even against any supporter of a candidate, he/she would be immediately disqualified.
Staff Reporter
On the eve of the third Barisal City Corporation (BCC) election, the city has been brought under a blanket of tight security by the law-enforcement agencies. Outsiders and people who are not residents of the city have not been allowed into Barisal from Thursday midnight.
A ban has been imposed on carrying of all kinds of licensed firearms inside the BCC areas till June 17. BCC poll returning officer (RO) Mujibur Rahman and Barisal Metropolitan Police (BMP) deputy commissioner (headquarters) Shoyeb Ahmed said more than 4,500 members and officials of different law-enforcement agencies in uniform and in plainclothes would be deployed for maintaining law and order on the day of the BCC election as well as before and after it. Shawkat Hossain Hiron, the outgoing mayor, came out in support of police firing on election campaigners of the rival camp, and urged all to exercise more patience. He also urged the activists supporting him and law enforcement personnel to show more patience and tolerance and not to overreact while ensuring a tension-free situation.
Answering questions about the deployment of armed forces, Hiron said he has no objection against the deployment of the army or any steps against violations of the rules of conduct of the election.
However, mayoral candidate Ahsan Habib Kamal and his chief election coordinator, Mojibor Rahman Sarwar, MP, rejected Hiron’s stand. They alleged that everybody in the city knows that the police and administration are biased in Hiron’s favour and added that the Election Commission (EC) has ignored their demands to change the setup of officials.
A total of 165 candidates is contesting the BCC election this year for a total of 41 posts. There are three mayoral candidates in the fray. Ahsan Habib Kamal, president of the district BNP unit, is contesting as the candidate backed by the 18-Party Alliance. Hiron, the immediate past mayor and president of the city unit of the AL, is contesting as the candidate backed by the 14-Party Alliance. Mahmudul Haque Khan Mamun, expelled district joint convener of Jubo League, is directly contesting as an independent. A total of 115 candidates is contesting for 30 general councillors’ posts, while 47 women are contesting for 10 reserved councillors’ posts.
The BCC poll returning officer and the BMP deputy commissioner said over seven check-posts have already been opened from June 13 at entrances and key points of the city. A drive to recover illegal arms and explosives has been launched.
Sixty out of 100 voting centres in the BCC election are considered “important” but not risk-prone, and 24 police and Ansar personnel would be deployed at each of those centres. In each of the other 43 “normal” centres, 22 police and Ansar personnel would be deployed. A 98-member Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) contingent and a 60-member Coast Guard contingent have already been stationed in the city and have begun patrolling.
Besides, 35 mobile teams of law enforcers and five judicial magistrates would be on the move in 30 wards of the city on Election Day.
A total of 58 teams of strike forces, including 30 teams of the police, 20 of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and five of the BGB would function on Election Day. Coast Guard personnel will be active in the riverside areas, the officials added.
The returning officer said there are 2,10,849 voters, including 1,07,625 male and 1,03,224 female voters. A total of 1,942 officials, including 100 presiding officers, a number of assistant presiding officers and polling officers will perform their duties of taking and counting votes in the 614 booths of the 100 centres in 30 wards. A total of 230 areas over 58 sq. km. under the Barisal City Corporation have been divided into 30 wards. The EC and law-enforcement agencies have identified 60 out of 100 vote centres as risk-prone and 20 out of the 60 risk-prone centres are highly risk-prone. BMP sources said the highly risk-prone centres included all the centres adjacent to the residences of the mayor and commissioner candidates.
BMP police chief said that 90 per cent (numbering 377) of the licensed firearms holders have handed over their arms to the local police stations. But 10 per cent arms holders, numbering 59, do not live in Barisal. A total of 76 firearms is used in different commercial banks.
The police have already arrested a total of 621 persons after the election schedule was announced. The movements of motorized private transport, including motorcycles, microbuses and cars, have been restricted since last night. The steps were implemented as per the directives of the Election Commission so that the BCC poll can be conducted in a free, fair and peaceful manner.
BMP commissioner Md. Samsuddin said at least 4,500 police personnel in uniforms and plainclothes would be deployed in 100 vote centres, key points, election- and politics-related offices and camps of the city. This force would comprise 2,000 personnel from the BMP and the rest 3,500 are from the Armed Police Battalion (APBn), range reserve forces, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Ansar and different police stations of the upazila and districts of the region.
Thirty mobile teams will continuously patrol 30 wards of the BCC to monitor the situation round-the-clock on Election Day. Four special anti-riot teams under two magistrates would stand by to tackle any untoward situation.
-With The Independent input
