In a turn of events, former Speaker Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar, ex-Law Minister Barrister Moudud Ahmed and former First Lady Rawshan Ershad staged a comeback in parliamentary politics as they won Thursday’s by-elections.
They lost their seats in their respective home constituencies in Panchagarh, Noakhali and Mymensingh in the parliamentary elections held on Dec 29 last year in a changed time following two years of emergency rule and political purge in which heads of many bigwigs had rolled.
By a stroke of luck, Barrister Sircar and Barrister Moudud were elected from the two seats in Bogra vacated by their party chief and former PM Khaleda Zia, who had won the highest allocation of three seats.
Bogra is considered a stronghold of BNP as BNP’s founder and slain President Ziaur Rahman was born there.
Out of the six seats on stake in today’s voting, the ruling Awami League won two seats -one each from Rangpur and Kurigram districts. The AL added another feather to its hat as Jatiya Party lost out one seat in its stronghold.
Awami League candidate Abul Kalam Azad won the Peerganj seat in Rangpur vacated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Hasina’s cousin Sheikh Helal was earlier declared elected unopposed from a seat in Bagerhat, also vacated by Hasina.
Nazmul Hasan Papan, son of President Zillur Rahman, inherited the seat of his father in Kishoreganj. Zillur vacated the seat before his election to the office of President in January.
In the by-elections, which should have been an acid test for it after the massive election victory in December, Awami League gained an additional seat by capturing Jatiya Party’s in Kurigram vacated by former President HM Ershad.
Ershad’s wife Roushan Ershad won from a seat in Rangpur vacated by her husband. Rangpur is the home district of Ershad and stronghold of the Jatiya Party.
According to unofficial results from the election commission, out of six constituencies where by-elections were held Thursday, the ruling Awami League secured three seats, opposition BNP retained its two and Jatiya Party won one seat but lost one.
Unofficial results are:
Bogra-6 : Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar, BNP (1,39,531 votes), Momtajuddin-AL (53,430 votes), Bogra-7: Barrister Moudud Ahmed, BNP (1,75,079 votes), Mustafa Alam Nanno, AL (97,257 votes), Kurigram-2: Zafar Ali, AL (1,40,748 votes), Golam Habib Dulal, JP (46,616 votes), Rangpur-6: Abul Kalam Azad, AL (1,12,721 votes), Noor Mohammad Mondal, BNP (35,857 votes) Rangpur-3: Rawshan Ershad, JP (87,847 votes), Rahimuddin Bhorasha, BNP (25,524 votes), Kishoreganj-6: Nazmul Hasan Papon, AL (1,06,147 votes), Shariful Alam, BNP (68,327 votes)
Golam Habib of JP, who lost in Kurigram, rejected the results complaining Awami League activists have thrown out his polling agents from 30 centres. His supporters were threatened and discouraged to cast votes in many centres, he said.
Stray incidents were reported from Bogra where police resorted to lathi charge to maintain peace leaving three BNP activists injured.
Seven people, two BNP and five Awami League activists, were injured in several polling centres in the by-elections to Bogra-6 and 7 constituencies. The supporters of the two parties clashed in five centres.
One Awami League activist was arrested on charges of violence and polling officer Shawkat Ali was suspended and detained on charges of campaigning for BNP candidate Jamiruddin Sircar in separate incidents.
Chief election commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda predicted a low turnout, on the eve of the by-polls, compared to the Dec 29 general election.
“Voters may be a bit reluctant to go to polling stations, as this is the third occasion after parliamentary and Upazila elections, within a relatively short period,” he said Wednesday.
“Besides, farmers are busy with irrigation.”
The CEC said the commission hadtaken all steps for free and fair election.
“I don’t see any sign of elections possibly being rigged, there is no such scope,” said Huda.
The EC appointed its own officials as returning officers for the first time in parliamentary polls.
In another rarity, the army and BDR were not being deployed to maintain election security in the wake February’s mutiny.
Election officials said greater numbers of RAB, police and ansars were engaged, instead.
Election campaigning came to a stop on Tuesday midnight, bans were imposed on all vehicular movement from Wednesday midnight and a public holiday was declared in election areas to facilitate voting.
Courtesy of The Independent
