AL-backed AJM Nasir Uddin leads in Chittagong City Corporation mayoral polls

Awami League-backed mayor aspirant AJM Nasir Uddin is leading by 170,391 votes in the latest round of counting in the Chittagong City Corporation election marked by the BNP’s boycott amid allegations of large-scale rigging.

Nasir, contesting with the ‘elephant’ symbol, bagged 474,901votes, according to the results from 718 of the 719 voting centres until 3:15am on Wednesday.
 
His main rival BNP-endorsed candidate M Manjur Alam, who announced the vote boycott alleging polls rigging, got 304,510 votes with his symbol ‘orange’.

He even announced that he was quitting politics.  

BNP-backed mayor candidates in Dhaka also announced their boycott of the polls.

Voting in the port city was held from 8am until 4pm on Tuesday.
 
Polling was not suspended at any of the centres in the port city, even though many of them saw irregularities and large-scale rigging by ruling party supporters.
 
After the daylong voting. Returning Officer Abdul Baten announced the results from the control centre at the MA Aziz Stadium.
 
The polls to the Chittagong City Corporation took place on Tuesday along with the Dhaka North and Dhaka South city corporations.
 
The port city has more than 1.8 million voters.
 
In Chittagong, 12 candidates are contesting for the mayoral post. 
 
Other mayor runners include Jatiya Party’s Solaiman Sheth (dish antenna), BNF’s Arif Moinuddin (bus), Islami Front’s MA Matin (spinning wheel) and Islamic Front’s Hossain Mohammad Mujibul Haque Shukkur (peacock), Syed Sazzad Joha (cricket bat), Wayej Hossain Bhuiyan (table clock), Shafiul Alam (hilsa), Saifuddin Ahmed Robi (flask), Abul Kalam Azad (matchbox) and Gazi Md Alauddin (telescope).
 
In Chittagong, 217 are contesting for general councillor posts in 41 wards, while 62 are vying for 14 wards reserved for women councillors.