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The BNP-backed challengers routed the
Awami League-supported mayoral
aspirants in Saturdays all four city
corporation elections -- the defeat
serving as a warning shot to the ruling
quarters barely six months ahead of the
general elections.
BNP leaders Ariful Haque Chowdhury,
Ahsan Habib Kamal, Mossaddeque
Hossain Bulbul and Moniruzzaman Mani
have unofficially been elected mayor in
Sylhet, Barisal, Rajshahi and Khulna,
respectively.
All the Awami Leaders, defeated by a
margin of 17,000 to 70,000 votes, had
served as Mayor of the four cities in the
previous term.
An Awami League Presidium member
sees the crushing defeat as a wake-up
call for the ruling party while the
opposition BNP has termed it a
revolution by the people.
The opposition supporters started the
celebrations and distributed sweets as
soon as the results put their candidates
in pole position.
The personnel of Rapid Action Battalion
(RAB) dispersed a procession taken out
by the defeated Mayor hopeful in
Rajshahi. But, the frustrated
supporters of the other three Awami
League leaders did not even bother to
take to the street after the
announcement.
The Chief Election Commissioner earlier
had urged everyone to accept the
people mandate in the right spirit.
The nation waited with bated breath
after the two major political parties
announced about taking the polls
seriously.
With the opposition questioning its
credibility and efficiency, the Election
Commission also took it as a challenge
to conduct the balloting that would be
accepted to all.
Voting in the city corporations started
at 8am and ended at 4pm Saturday
without any major incident.
The Election Commission believes 80
percent of the 1.2 million voters sealed
on their ballots on that day.
The EC officials started to declare the
results since 8pm Saturday.
The final result of the Sylhet City
Corporation came first, followed by
those of Barisal and Rajshahi. The
returning official declared the results of
Khulna City Corporation elections at
around 1:45am on Sunday.
Sylhet
Ariful Haque Chowdhury won by a margin
of 35,000 votes, polling 107,330 votes
while his closest contender outgoing
Mayor Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran drew
72,173 from all the 128 centres.
Kamran, the Sylhet Metropolitan Awami
League President, was quick to concede.
In an instant reaction, he said: Im happy
with the peoples mandate. Im grateful to
the city dwellers for casting votes
peacefully. Ill try to serve the people in
the future like I did in the past by being
beside the people.
The Returning Officer SM Ejharul Haq said
the elections saw 180,525 legitimate
votes cast. There were 291,046 voters in
the city.
Barisal
Ahsan Habib Kamal was unofficially
elected Mayor of Barisal City Corporation
after he comprehensively beat Awami
League-backed Shawkat Hossain Hiran
by more than 17000 votes.
Contesting with pineapple symbol, he
pulled 83,751 votes while his nearest rival
Hiran with television symbol bagged
66,761 votes.
The results were announced from the
Presiding Officers office at C&B Road in
Barisal city since around 10:30pm.
Mammudul Haque Khan Mamun, Joint
Convenor of Juba Leagues metropolitan
unit, was also in the fray with an
electoral symbol of pen and inkpot.
Speaking to bdnew24.com, Kamal
described his victory as political.
This is indeed a local election and the
BNP is strong in the city, he said adding
that he won the elections due to
political reasons.
As many as 152,299 of the 211,257 voters
went to the 100 centres in Barisal on
Saturday to cast their vote, with a 72.1
percent turnout.
Rajshahi
Again, the BNP-led oppositions choice
Mossaddeque Hossain Bulbul has
unofficially been elected Mayor of
Rajshahi City Corporation
Bulbul comprehensively beat Awami
League-backed candidate AHM
Khairuzzaman Liton by 47,332 votes.
He drew 131,058 votes with the poll sign
pineapple while Liton pulled 83,726
votes with lock symbol.
Rajshahis Regional Election Officer
Subhash Chandra Sarker announced the
final result for all the 137 centres from the
temporary control room set up at the
Government Laboratory Zilla High School
Zilla at around 1:20am on Sunday.
He said 76.09 percent of the 28,6916
votes were cast during the balloting.
Khulna
Like the other three city corporations,
Khulna City also saw a BNP-backed
candidate sweeping the polls with huge
margin.
Moniruzzaman Mani got the better of his
nearest rival, Awami League-backed
candidate Talukder Abdul Khaleque by
staggering 70,000 votes.
Mani, who contested with pineapple
symbol, secured 180,093 votes. Khaleque
with lock symbol got 119,422 votes,
Presiding Officers of all the 288 centres
told bdnews24.com.
Speaking to bdnews24.com at around
2am on Sunday, he said he believed the
people had in fact extended their support
to the BNP demand for revival of the
caretaker government system by voting
for the opposition-backed candidates in
the city corporation elections.
Actually, each of those who has won the
city corporation elections has been
demonstrating for the restoration of the
caretaker provision, he said.
Official claimed 68.7 percent of the total
440,566 votes were cast on Saturday.
Spontaneous Voting
Voting at one centre in Barisal was
suspended for an hour after supporters of
two rival mayoral candidates engaged in
a brawl. BNP activists reportedly attacked
a RAB vehicle in Khulna. Barring these,
no major incident was reported anywhere
during the polls.
But, one person died in heart attack
during tensions sparked off by a stand-
off between RAB and supporters of a
Councillor candidate in the Khulna
elections.
The Election Commission withdrew an
election official after she got herself
involved in an altercation with the voters
in Sylhet.
The cities wore a festive look with
spontaneous participation of voters. The
presence of female voters was also
noticeable.
A huge number of police and BGB
personnel were deployed to maintain law
and order. The elections saw no army
deployment, though BNP had asked for it.
Vote Calculation
According to the Election Commission,
among the 1.2 million voters in the four
cities, 853,653 people went to the centres
to seal on the ballots.
As much as 59 percent of them voted for
the candidates backed by BNP and
Jamaat-e-Islami while Awami League-
backed ones got 40 percent of the total
votes.
Former Jamaat activist Habibur Rahman,
businessman Salauddin Rimon, Joint
Convenor of Juba Leagues Barisals
metropolitan unit Mahmudul Haque Khan
Mamun and Jatiya Party (A)-backed
candidate Shafiqul Islam Modhu ran in
the polls in Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barisal and
Khulna, respectively.
http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/06/15/al-sinks-in-city-polls1;jsessionid=D447682FE899D164643C7A2D253CF7A4.pre4
Awami League-supported mayoral
aspirants in Saturdays all four city
corporation elections -- the defeat
serving as a warning shot to the ruling
quarters barely six months ahead of the
general elections.
BNP leaders Ariful Haque Chowdhury,
Ahsan Habib Kamal, Mossaddeque
Hossain Bulbul and Moniruzzaman Mani
have unofficially been elected mayor in
Sylhet, Barisal, Rajshahi and Khulna,
respectively.
All the Awami Leaders, defeated by a
margin of 17,000 to 70,000 votes, had
served as Mayor of the four cities in the
previous term.
An Awami League Presidium member
sees the crushing defeat as a wake-up
call for the ruling party while the
opposition BNP has termed it a
revolution by the people.
The opposition supporters started the
celebrations and distributed sweets as
soon as the results put their candidates
in pole position.
The personnel of Rapid Action Battalion
(RAB) dispersed a procession taken out
by the defeated Mayor hopeful in
Rajshahi. But, the frustrated
supporters of the other three Awami
League leaders did not even bother to
take to the street after the
announcement.
The Chief Election Commissioner earlier
had urged everyone to accept the
people mandate in the right spirit.
The nation waited with bated breath
after the two major political parties
announced about taking the polls
seriously.
With the opposition questioning its
credibility and efficiency, the Election
Commission also took it as a challenge
to conduct the balloting that would be
accepted to all.
Voting in the city corporations started
at 8am and ended at 4pm Saturday
without any major incident.
The Election Commission believes 80
percent of the 1.2 million voters sealed
on their ballots on that day.
The EC officials started to declare the
results since 8pm Saturday.
The final result of the Sylhet City
Corporation came first, followed by
those of Barisal and Rajshahi. The
returning official declared the results of
Khulna City Corporation elections at
around 1:45am on Sunday.
Sylhet
Ariful Haque Chowdhury won by a margin
of 35,000 votes, polling 107,330 votes
while his closest contender outgoing
Mayor Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran drew
72,173 from all the 128 centres.
Kamran, the Sylhet Metropolitan Awami
League President, was quick to concede.
In an instant reaction, he said: Im happy
with the peoples mandate. Im grateful to
the city dwellers for casting votes
peacefully. Ill try to serve the people in
the future like I did in the past by being
beside the people.
The Returning Officer SM Ejharul Haq said
the elections saw 180,525 legitimate
votes cast. There were 291,046 voters in
the city.
Barisal
Ahsan Habib Kamal was unofficially
elected Mayor of Barisal City Corporation
after he comprehensively beat Awami
League-backed Shawkat Hossain Hiran
by more than 17000 votes.
Contesting with pineapple symbol, he
pulled 83,751 votes while his nearest rival
Hiran with television symbol bagged
66,761 votes.
The results were announced from the
Presiding Officers office at C&B Road in
Barisal city since around 10:30pm.
Mammudul Haque Khan Mamun, Joint
Convenor of Juba Leagues metropolitan
unit, was also in the fray with an
electoral symbol of pen and inkpot.
Speaking to bdnew24.com, Kamal
described his victory as political.
This is indeed a local election and the
BNP is strong in the city, he said adding
that he won the elections due to
political reasons.
As many as 152,299 of the 211,257 voters
went to the 100 centres in Barisal on
Saturday to cast their vote, with a 72.1
percent turnout.
Rajshahi
Again, the BNP-led oppositions choice
Mossaddeque Hossain Bulbul has
unofficially been elected Mayor of
Rajshahi City Corporation
Bulbul comprehensively beat Awami
League-backed candidate AHM
Khairuzzaman Liton by 47,332 votes.
He drew 131,058 votes with the poll sign
pineapple while Liton pulled 83,726
votes with lock symbol.
Rajshahis Regional Election Officer
Subhash Chandra Sarker announced the
final result for all the 137 centres from the
temporary control room set up at the
Government Laboratory Zilla High School
Zilla at around 1:20am on Sunday.
He said 76.09 percent of the 28,6916
votes were cast during the balloting.
Khulna
Like the other three city corporations,
Khulna City also saw a BNP-backed
candidate sweeping the polls with huge
margin.
Moniruzzaman Mani got the better of his
nearest rival, Awami League-backed
candidate Talukder Abdul Khaleque by
staggering 70,000 votes.
Mani, who contested with pineapple
symbol, secured 180,093 votes. Khaleque
with lock symbol got 119,422 votes,
Presiding Officers of all the 288 centres
told bdnews24.com.
Speaking to bdnews24.com at around
2am on Sunday, he said he believed the
people had in fact extended their support
to the BNP demand for revival of the
caretaker government system by voting
for the opposition-backed candidates in
the city corporation elections.
Actually, each of those who has won the
city corporation elections has been
demonstrating for the restoration of the
caretaker provision, he said.
Official claimed 68.7 percent of the total
440,566 votes were cast on Saturday.
Spontaneous Voting
Voting at one centre in Barisal was
suspended for an hour after supporters of
two rival mayoral candidates engaged in
a brawl. BNP activists reportedly attacked
a RAB vehicle in Khulna. Barring these,
no major incident was reported anywhere
during the polls.
But, one person died in heart attack
during tensions sparked off by a stand-
off between RAB and supporters of a
Councillor candidate in the Khulna
elections.
The Election Commission withdrew an
election official after she got herself
involved in an altercation with the voters
in Sylhet.
The cities wore a festive look with
spontaneous participation of voters. The
presence of female voters was also
noticeable.
A huge number of police and BGB
personnel were deployed to maintain law
and order. The elections saw no army
deployment, though BNP had asked for it.
Vote Calculation
According to the Election Commission,
among the 1.2 million voters in the four
cities, 853,653 people went to the centres
to seal on the ballots.
As much as 59 percent of them voted for
the candidates backed by BNP and
Jamaat-e-Islami while Awami League-
backed ones got 40 percent of the total
votes.
Former Jamaat activist Habibur Rahman,
businessman Salauddin Rimon, Joint
Convenor of Juba Leagues Barisals
metropolitan unit Mahmudul Haque Khan
Mamun and Jatiya Party (A)-backed
candidate Shafiqul Islam Modhu ran in
the polls in Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barisal and
Khulna, respectively.
http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/06/15/al-sinks-in-city-polls1;jsessionid=D447682FE899D164643C7A2D253CF7A4.pre4