Mahmood Ali wins Dinajpur-4

Awami League candidate AH Mahmood Ali has been re-elected unofficially from Dinajpur-4 (Chirirbandar-Khansama) constituency, says the Returning Officer.

Dinajpur Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 16 Jan 2014, 03:51 PM
Updated : 16 Jan 2014, 05:21 PM

Voting at 57 polling centres in the seat had been marred by violence and disruption during the parliamentary elections on Jan 5, forcing the Election Commission to order re-polls.

Polling at these centres was held again on Thursday in fair and peaceful manner.

Dinajpur district Returning Officer Ahmed Shamim Al Raji said the Foreign Minister of the elections-time government Mahmood Ali bagged 141,232 votes in 120 voting centres including those troubled 57 centres.

He told bdnews24.com that Ali's only rival Workers Party candidate Enamul Haque Sarker got 2,092 votes.

Raji said 55.47 percent votes were cast on Thursday.

Mahmood Ali is widely tipped to retain the foreign ministry portfolio now overseen by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself.

He had become popular among the Dhaka-based foreign diplomats through his briefings.

He had also changed the format of briefings that ambassadors and high commissioners liked.

Ali also took personal initiative to ensure security of all diplomats in Dhaka. The diplomats had cited fears of security when some of them did not turn up at the National Memorial on the Victory Day.

He had been Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before he became Foreign Minister.

He joined Civil Service of Pakistan in the early 1960s and was elected to Parliament in 2008.

A freedom fighter, he was one of the first to defect for Bangladesh.

A career Foreign Service officer, he led his younger colleagues in protests against military strongman HM Ershad in December, 1990 while he was Additional Foreign Secretary. 
He retired in 2001 as Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

He had also served as Dhaka’s ambassador to Germany and Bhutan.