Manjur new Ctg mayor

He ends Mohiuddin’s 17-year streak with record 95,528-vote lead; AL backed candidates dominate ward councils with 31 councillors among total 55
Mohammad Manjur Alam was elected the next mayor of Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) yesterday, defeating ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury by the largest ever margin in the corporation’s history.
Mohiuddin was the first elected mayor of the port city, who has been in the post for 17 years.
BNP backed Manjur bagged 4,79,145 votes defeating his main rival by 95,528.
Returning Officer Jesmin Tuli announced the unofficial poll result at 10:25am declaring Manjur the mayor-elect, amid cheers and slogans from several thousand supporters, many of whom waited there overnight with anticipation. A number of BNP and Jamaat leaders were also present.
After the announcement, Manjur’s chief election agent, Chittagong City BNP President Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, picked up the microphone and asked the cheering crowd not to bring out any victory procession. He asked them to go back home, and to attend the Juma prayer, to express gratitude to Allah, instead of exulting over the victory.
Expressing his joy over the win, Manjur told reporters that he will put his best efforts to solve the civic problems of the city, attaching topmost priority to getting rid of waterlogging.
He thanked the city residents for choosing him as their mayor, and trusting him with the city’s development. He also said he will run CCC in consultation with the former mayor.
Asked to evaluate the polling, Amir Khasru said, “There were few flaws in the polling, and I had to point out, as the election agent of the candidate, that something unusual was feared to be taking place during the counting of votes. Other than that, the election was smooth.”
Neither Mohiuddin, who got 3,83,617 votes, nor his election agent was present during the announcement of the result.
On Thursday night tension ran high with Manjur’s supporters setting fire to three motorcycles, and smashing empty ballot boxes and several makeshift shops, protesting delays in arrival of ballot boxes from polling stations, and the announcement of the result.
They calmed down at the Election Commission’s control room as late counts started showing Manjur leading in almost every centre.
Maj (retd) Emdad, member secretary of Nagorik Committee which campaigned for Mohiuddin, however said, “The election was held in a smooth and fair way, for which the Election Commission should be thanked. We have accepted the election result.”
But he brought an allegation that Mohiuddin’s rival camp distributed money among voters in slums. He urged the EC to remain alert against such practices to make future elections more successful.
“I have heard that a reaction might come from the central leadership of Awami League on the election and the overall situation,” Emdad told The Daily Star in the afternoon.
Outgoing mayor Mohiuddin Chowdhury, also the existing president of AL’s Chittagong City unit, became the first elected mayor of the city defeating BNP nominated Mir Mohammad Nasir Uddin by some 17,000 votes in the first CCC election in 1994.
He was elected the mayor for the second time in 2000 amid a boycott by BNP, and for the third consecutive time defeating Mir Nasir again by a margin of 91,480 votes in 2005 during the last BNP regime.
MAYORAL CONTESTANTS WHO WILL LOSE DEPOSITS
As the five other mayoral candidates failed to get even one eighth of the total vote cast, they will lose their deposits, according to the law.
A total of 8,85,064 voters cast their votes in the poll, out of total 16,88,677 registered voters, while 35,506 votes were cancelled. The voter turn out was 54.50 percent.
To get a refund of the deposit, a candidate must have gotten 1,10,633 votes.
Independent candidate Syed Shamsuzzoha got the lowest 667 votes. Mofazzal Hossain Bhuiyan got 8,813, Rafiqul Islam of Islamic Andolon 6,521, Md Ibrahim 2,267, Jane Alam 1,951, and Jatiya Party backed Solaiman Alam Sheth got 2,083 votes despite dropping out of the race.
The CCC poll marked the beginning of a new chapter in the country’s election history as well, by introducing e-voting. Electronic voting machines were used at 14 polling centres in a ward with 25,230 voters.
Talking about the election that turned out to be the most peaceful and fair under any political government, Returning Officer Jesmine Tuli told reporters that she expects a change among politicians of the country.
“I expect that the standard of politics in our country will improve. It’s not only me, I think all the people have an expectation for a standard of politics from politicians.” said the RO adding, “Holding of a smooth and fair polling, and acceptance of the result by the candidates, is a forward step towards improving the political culture.”
She said making candidates respectful to electoral code of conduct is a difficult and important task.
WARD COUNCILLORS-ELECT
The EC took all out measures to ensure free and fair balloting in the CCC poll in which 55 councillors including 14 female councillors were also elected to 41 city wards.
Ruling Awami League backed candidates dominate the ward councils including the councillors elected in female quota.
AL backed candidates won 31 posts of councillors including 11 in female quota, BNP backed candidates won 19 including 2 in female quota.
Two Jamaat backed, and two independent candidates were also elected councillors, while one post of a female councillor went to a candidate backed by Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD).

Courtesy of The Daily Star