Barishal city polls: Two mayoral candidates pull out of race, three call for a halt

The BNP and Islami Andolon Bangladesh mayoral candidates in the Barishal City Corporation elections have withdrawn from the race citing vote rigging, while three of the five other candidates have called for a stay on the elections.

Returning Officer Md Mujibur Rahman says the allegations will be scrutinised before a decision is taken.

Voting began at 123 polling centres in the city at 8am on Monday. The BNP and other parties raised allegations of irregularities at various centres from the morning.

The BNP’s Md Mazibor Rahman Sarwar, CPB’s Abul Kalam Azad, Socialist Party of Bangladesh’s Manisha Chakrabarty, Islami Andolon Bangladesh’s Obaidur Rahman Mahabub, Sharik Jatiya Party’s Md Iqbal Hossain, the Awami League’s Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah, and independent candidate Bashir Ahmed Jhunu entered the race for the mayoral polls.

BNP candidate Sarwar called a press conference at the Barishal Press Club, four hours into the start of the polls, to announce his withdrawal.

The BNP candidate alleged that the party’s polling agents were barred from 70-80 centres.

Those agents who managed to enter the centres said the Awami League was “stuffing boxes with ballots’, he said.

“The Awami League government has destroyed the election arrangement. This cannot continue. I am calling on the Election Commission to halt this election, but they did not heed our words.”

“So we condemn the Election Commission. We will withdraw and boycott the election.”

Islami Andolon Bangladesh candidate Obaidur Rahman Mahabub announced that he would boycott the polls.

“There are numerous irregularities, including rigging. It is not possible to vote in this situation. We are announcing a boycott of the vote.”

Manisha Chakrabarty alleged that she had been attacked by supporters of the ruling party when she protested the ‘vote rigging’ at one of the polling centres.

Azad went to the election’s Returning Officer with complaints about the election around 11am, followed by Sarwar, Chakrabarty, Mahabub and Iqbal Hossain at 1pm.

“We have made our allegations to the election officials,” said Mahabub. “We also included our reasons for boycotting the election.”

“The Awami League’s people are snatching votes at every polling centre in the city,” said CPB candidate Abul Kalam Azad. “They removed our agents from the centres and did not allow them to cast their ballots.”  

“The ballots were marked with votes for the Awami League before 8am,” said Chakrabarty. “They attacked me at the centre of the city, in my area. But the administration is not doing anything. This cannot be considered a fair election in any way, shape or form.”

Awami League mayoral candidate Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah has not commented on the allegations by these candidates. Independent candidate Bashir Ahmed put his support behind the Awami League candidate a few days ago and has become largely inactive.

Returning Officer Md Mujibur Rahman said he will discuss the candidates’ allegations with the relevant presiding officers, scrutinise them and take the ‘appropriate steps’.