Senior Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders have alleged that the elections in four city corporations are likely to be rigged but the leaders of the ruling Awami League (AL) have dismissed such apprehensions, saying the elections would be held in a free and fair manner.
BNP leaders believe the election results would have an impact on the next general elections, to be held after a few months, while the AL leaders said holding a free and fair election is more important for them. Leaders of both the parties made the observations hours before voting in four city corporation polls. The elections to Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal and Sylhet City Corporations will be held on Saturday. AL and BNP candidates have been taking part in the local government elections under different banners. Leaders of both the AL and the BNP claimed that the candidates backed by them would win the polls. Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, a senior member of the BNP standing committee, told The Independent that the candidates backed by theruling party in the four city elections have been hatching a conspiracy to manipulate the elections, sensing that there was a mass upsurge of support for candidates backed by the Opposition.
“The government may interfere and the administration can intervene in the election process to tailor the results in favour of candidates backed by the ruling party in all the four cities since they have come to know that there is no popularity of the government. Any survey will reveal this,” he said.
Criticising the government for not deploying the Army in the elections, the BNP leader said apprehensions have been created among the minds of the people about whether the government wants to influence the polls. “If the Army is deployed, then people would have felt secure about casting their own votes without any intervention,” he added.
Mosharraf said holding the elections in a free and fair manner is the biggest challenge for the Election Commission as it would show whether it would be able to conduct the next general polls. “It is okay if it can prove itself to be a neutral body by holding the elections in a free and fair manner. But if it fails to do so, the people will judge them,” he added.
Tariqul Islam, another member of the BNP’s standing committee, expressed his apprehensions that the city elections might be manipulated, as the candidates had earlier predicted. He added that whether the city elections are manipulated or not would have an impact on the national
elections.
He also alleged that candidates backed by the ruling party, particularly in Khulna, have been distributing black money among voters to buy their votes.
Amir Hossain Amu, a senior member of the AL’s advisory council, said allegations about manipulation of the polls is a routine complaint made by the Opposition and the allegation had no basis. “The allegations have been levelled just to justify the possible defeat of their candidates,” he said.
The AL leader said different law-enforcement agencies, including the police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Battalion (BGB), have been deployed in all the four cities to ensure the safety and security of the voters. There no cause for apprehending that the polls would be manipulated, he added.
However, he also said, if the EC fells it necessary or if the local situation goes beyond control, it can deploy the Army during the polls and “in that case we have no objection”.
The AL leader said he expected that the candidates of Nagorik Committee backed by them will win the polls since the people would cast their votes after taking consideration the developmental works carried out by them.
AL joint general secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif said each of the elections organised during the last four-and-a-half years was held in a free and fair manner.
“This time, too, the priority of the government is to hold the city polls in a free and impartial manner so that each voter can cast his/her vote freely,” he added.
Hanif, who is also the Prime Minister’s special assistant, said the allegation that the elections might be manipulated had no basis. Regarding deployment of the Army, he said no such incident has occurred or no such situation has arisen in any of the four cities that warranted deployment of the Army.
Asked to comment on the possible results of candidates backed by the ruling party, he said, “The AL leaders wining the polls is not a major point for us, we want the elections to be held in a free and fair manner.” He added that there was a possibility that those candidates who had worked for the welfare of the people as mayors the last time would win the polls.
Hanif also said the EC has been working with full independence. “It has been taking whatever measures are needed. It will take more steps if it feels necessary. We have no problem,” he added.
-With The Independent input
