BNP yet to take decision
The ruling Awami League-led 14-party alliance on Friday declared city AL president and outgoing mayor Shawkat Hossain Hiron as their mayor candidate for the upcoming Barisal City Corporation election.
Six mayoral candidates, including three from BNP, two from AL and JL and one from CPB, collected nomination papers for mayoral and 157 for 30 general and 43 for 10 reserved female councilor candidates collected nomination papers for the third BCC election.
However BNP-led 18-party alliance is yet to decide over nominating their candidates.
AL-led 14 party alliances on Friday afternoon held a workers-leaders rally at Barisal Club auditorium presided over by district council administrator and former district AL president Mokhlesur Rahman.
From that rally district AL president and former chief whip Abul Hasanat Abdullah declared Hiron as official candidate from the 14-party alliance as per decision of the central body of the alliance.
Lawmaker and district AL secretary Talukdar Md Yunus, AL lawmaker Shah Alam, central AL publicity and research secretary Afzal Hossain, Nazrul Huq Nilu of Workers Party, Abdul Hye Mahbub of JSD, Shafikur Rahman of NAP, addressing the rally, declared their wholehearted support for Hiron.
Hiron expressed his confidence about winning the election.
Mujibur Rahman, Khulna regional election commissioner and returning officer for BCC election, said Ashok Madhav Roy, additional secretary of local government ministry, had informed that outgoing mayor Hiron submitted his resignation from the BCC mayor post on Thursday to contest in the BCC mayor election.
The chief executive officer BCC will perform administrative duties until newly elected mayor takes over the charge, he added.
The election office remained open on weekly holiday and till Friday Kamrul Hasan Shahin, city BNP secretary and public prosecutor, Ahsan Habib Kamal, district ( south) BNP president and former mayor of BCC, Ebaidul Huq Chan, former district BNP secretary and former president of Barisal Chamber of Commerce and Industries, also collected nomination paper for the mayoral post.
-With New Age input
