Terming the outcome of the mayoral polls as a referendum against the present government, experts feel the anti-incumbency wave, coupled with government crackdown on Hefazat rally and internal rift in the ruling party, were instrumental in the debacle of the ruling party- backed candidates in the elections for the four city corporations. Talking to The Independent, local government experts, political scientists and analysts said the national political issue dominated the city polls, for which, many popular ruling party candidates had to face defeat.
Talking to The Independent, local government specialist and executive director of Sujan (Citizens Campaign for Good Governance), Dr Badiul Alam Mazumder, said the mayoral polls have turned into a referendum on the four and half year’s rule of the government. “The ruling party gave these local government polls a partisan colour. Both the ruling party and the opposition unofficially nominated the candidates themselves, and the result shows that the people gave their verdict against the misrule of the government,” he added.
He pointed out that if the elections were fought on the basis of the local issues, some ruling party-backed candidates could have won, as they had done a lot of development work as mayors in their respective city corporations. In 2008, he said, the AL had won the city polls and, subsequently, won the national elections.
Professor Dr Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah of the political science department of Dhaka University also felt that the campaign trail in the mayoral polls was gripped by national issues. Dr Kalimullah, who heads the National Election Observation Council (Janipop), said their field-level observation report showed that issues like the formation of the Ganajagaran Manch Movement and foiling the Hefazat sit-in at Shapla Square had influenced the mayoral polls.
It was a do or die situation for both Hefazat and Jamaat, and they were very active in unleashing a fierce and well-organised campaign for the polls, he added. “We have seen that the women activists of Jamaat and Hefazat were engaged in door-to-door campaigns for the BNP-backed candidates.”
Professor Ferdous Hossain of the political science department said the ruling Awami League-backed candidates’ debacle in all four city corporations was the outcome of the incumbent government’s failure in fulfilling the people’s aspirations.
“Though it is a local government election, it gained the character of general elections. That’s why, people’s verdict went against the ruling party-backed candidates, due to the government’s utter failure,” he said.
He added that the government tried to take a hard-line stance against the leaders and activists of Jamaat-e-Islam and Hefazat, for which, the ruling party-backed candidates faced defeat in Saturday’s elections. He said the leaders and activists of Jamaat and Hefazat voted for BNP-backed candidates, as they had no other choice. That’s why, the opposition-backed candidates won, he added.
The DU professor thinks if there is no dramatic change, the trend of Saturday’s elections will remain unchanged in the next general elections.
Eminent columnist and social activist, Syed Abul Maksud, also felt that the election results in the mayoral polls should be seen as no-confidence of the voters to the present Awami League-led Grand Alliance government. He added that the opposition should also take lessons from this election, and should give up the culture of raising allegations in advance.
On the other hand, local analysts in the four city corporations felt that internal conflict of the ruling party, coupled with wrong campaigning of its candidates, also contributed to the failure of the ruling party, in winning the polls.
In Rajshahi, political scientists and social analysts have identified a number of factors that toppled Nagarik Committee mayoral candidate AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, in the election to the Rajshahi City Corporation, held on June 15. They linked the failure of Liton to his isolation from the public, non-recognition of grassroots workers, and impact of national politics.
According to AL insiders, the grassroots workers who worked relentlessly during the 2008 mayoral elections, to ensure Liton’s win, were highly dissatisfied with his activities.
In Barisal, corruption involving ruling party mayoral candidate Hiron, along with national issues, dominated the mayoral polls. The affidavit of Hiron, submitted to the election commission, showed that his yearly income had increased by 55 times in the last five years. When asked, Liton could not give any satisfactory answer.
In Sylhet, ruling party-backed candidate Kamran’s position was weakened due to his second marriage scandal. Just prior to the election, rumour spread in the city that he had a second wife who stayed in the capital.
In Khulna, ruling party-backed candidate Abdul Khaleq, who had never been defeated in any election, also had to bite the dust. He said national issues and lack of unity contributed to his defeat.
-With The Independent input
