Rajshahi, Sylhet and Barishal city corporations are going to polls on Monday in what appears to be the last boat-paddy sheaf fight before the general elections by the end of this year.
Published : 30 Jul 2018, 01:29 AM
So, all the eyes across Bangladesh will be on the three cities, with heated comments from both sides – the ruling Awami League and its main rival the BNP - cranking up the atmosphere.
Candidates of the two parties are expected to dominate the polls to the cities with a total of around 900,000 voters.
Even foreigners are watching closely the local government polls being held under the Election Commission which is facing an image crisis due to allegations of ‘silent rigging’ in recent Khulna and Gazipur polls.
The embassies of the US and the Netherlands have wished Bangladesh a peaceful and festive voting day for all to exercise their democratic right freely.
The BNP-backed candidates won the elections to all the three cities five years ago.
The party has picked winners Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul and Ariful Haque Chowdhury for the mayoral race in Rajshahi and Sylhet respectively, with the party’s paddy sheaf logo.
The ruling Awami League has put its faith on the candidates it supported the last time – AHM Khairuzzaman Liton in Rajshahi and Bodor Uddin Ahmed Kamran in Sylhet.
In Barishal, the BNP has nominated its central leader Mazibor Rahman Sarwar, who was elected mayor of Barishal when it was promoted to a city corporation in 2002.
The KM Nurul Huda-led EC earned plaudits for elections to Comilla and Rangpur city corporations, won by the BNP and Jatiya Party candidates, respectively.
But the EC’s reputation took a hit when allegations surfaced that the local administrations influenced results in recent Khulna and Gazipur elections, in which the BNP lost to the Awami League.
No incidents of violence or widespread rigging were reported in Khulna and Gazipur, but anomalies in results and allegations of threatening the BNP voters marred the balloting.
The BNP mayoral candidates in the three cities fear a repeat of the ‘irregularities’ that had marred the Gazipur and Khulna vote.
The Bulbul-Ariful-Sarwar trio have alleged they had been barred from campaigning and their supporters faced police harassments such as arrest.
The Awami League has brushed aside the allegations, saying that the BNP was trying to discredit the elections sensing defeat.
The EC has also refuted the allegations of irregularities and claims to have taken action whenever needed.
The BNP raised the allegations again at a meeting with the CEC at the commission in Dhaka on the eve of voting. Its leaders fear the problems they see will not be resolved.
Asked why then they were not pulling out, BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said with the general elections in sight, they want to prove that fair election is impossible as long as the Awami League remains in power.
“We are contesting in elections repeatedly to unmask them (Awami League),” he said.
But Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said the BNP called the elections unfair only when they lost.
The ruling party is hopeful of victories in all three cities.
Prime minister’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy has claimed landslide victories in Rajshahi and Barishal, and by narrow margin in Sylhet citing a survey conducted ahead of the polls.
In his words “the BNP is no longer an electoral threat to the Awami League”.
As the heat rises amid the war of words between the two chief rivals, the EC says it has done what is needed to organise fair elections in the three cities.
“There can be allegations and counter-claims. It’s part of our political culture. But we are prepared for fair elections,” EC Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed sad.
CEC Huda reminded the officials of the importance of the city corporation polls in the year of parliamentary elections.
Over 17,000 members of the police, BGB, RAB, and Ansar-VDP have been deployed to provide security in the cities with a total of 19 mayoral candidates.
Nearly 8,000 officials have been tasked with conducting the elections at an estimated cost of around Tk 60 million.
Over 600 observers will watch the elections.