Khokon-Salim showdown leaves powerless EC fuming

Two Awami League leaders wanting to run for Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation have collected their nomination forms with scores of supporters in tow in a show of strength that has left the Election Commission fuming but powerless to act.

EC officials say they are 'powerless' to stop such a showdown because of loopholes in law. But they say it is 'unethical and unacceptable'. 

Sayeed Khokon, who claimed to have secured ruling Awami League's backing, first turned up at the EC, accompanied by the party’s Dhaka metropolitan unit's chief MA Aziz.

He collected the form with about 100 supporters around midday on Tuesday. 

An hour later, the metropolitan unit’s Joint General Secretary Haji Mohammad Salim also came to collect his form with about 100 supporters. 

Though the two have collected the nomination papers, the ruling party is yet to take a call on the mayoral runner for Dhaka South, senior leaders had said. 

Similar to their showdowns, Awami League leader AJM Nasir Uddin also collected the papers from Chittagong EC office on Monday along with a huge number of supporters. 

The party has given its official backing to Nasir to run for mayor in the port city’s polls. 

The city corporation elections in Chittagong, and Dhaka North and South are slated to take place on Apr 28. 

Regarding Tuesday’s Khokon-Salim showdown, Dhaka South’s Returning Officer Mihir Sarwar Morshed said he had heard of it. 

“It is unethical but we are not in a position to stop it legally under present election laws. They are using gaps in the law to do all this,” he said. 

The present Code of Conduct stipulates no candidate can be accompanied by more than five persons to submit nomination forms. 

Processions, motorcades and showdowns are prohibited too. 

Any candidate who violates these provisions can be fined Tk 50,000 or jailed for six months or both. 

“We can stop them if they come with a lot of people to deposit the forms. But today they had come to collect the forms,” said Morshed. 

He said the aspirants could not start campaigns 21 days before the scheduled date of the polls. 

“So today's showdown is unethical and unacceptable,” he added.