AL wrests lead from BNP in Upazila polls

The Awami League has got its nose ahead in the staggered Upazila Parishad elections after Sunday’s fourth phase of voting.

According to unofficial results from 88 Upazilas, candidates backed by the ruling party won the chairman election in 55 Upazilas while the BNP-endorsed aspirants took 24.

The BNP's key ally Jamaat-e-Islami candidates won in five Upazilas and the other went to a Jatiya Party loyalist.

Independent candidates have won in Pirojpur's Bhandaria Upazila and Habiganj Sadar Upazila.

After the four rounds of the vote in local government body, the Awami League-blessed candidates had won chairman post in 177 Upazilas, toppling the BNP which was in the lead after the third round.

The BNP has now 150 chairmen. With its ally Jamaat’s 32 chairmen and one of LDP, the opposition 19-Party alliance is ahead of the Awami League with chairmen in 183 Upazila Parishads.

Apart from these, three from the Jatiya party, six from Chittagong Hill Tracts-based Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti (PCJSS) and three from the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) also won chairman posts after the fourth leg.

The PCJSS-backed candidate Moni Chakma in Rangamati’s Barkal Upazila is the only female chairman-elect so far.

It also won the posts of chairman, male vice-chairman and female vice-chairperson from Rangamati’s Jurachharhi Upazila.

Around 14 million voters cast their ballots Sunday for electing a chairman, a vice-chairman and a woman vice-chairman in each Upazila.

A total of 1186 candidates contested the fourth phase. Of them, 447 ran for chairman, 311 for vice-chairman and 519 for women vice-chairman.

Four people were killed in violence on Sunday during the balloting at 91 Upazilas in 43 districts.

Ballot boxes and papers were also snatched and burnt in several Upazilas.

Of the 5,884 polling centres, the Election Commission said voting at 32 centres at 11 Upazilas were countermanded due to irregularities and violent situations.

Results have been not announced of Cox’s Bazaar’s Kutubdia Upazila, Munshiganj’s Gajaria and Patuakhali’s Dumki Upazila so far.

The EC, however, claimed that Sunday’s voting was ‘peaceful’ despite ‘a little bit of violence and disturbance’ at some places.

The Awami League also said the fourth phase was more peaceful and fair than the previous three rounds.

The BNP, however, alleged that polls were rigged by supporters of the ruling party after they occupied polling centres at 46 Upazilas.

With the fourth round, polls at 385 of 487 local government bodies are over. Voting in the remainder will take place in the next two phases - fifth leg at 74 Upazilas on Mar 31 and last round in the first week of May.