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Polls bubbles burst
BNP's early walkover makes city results insignificant; irregularities widespread; AL rivals for councilor posts cause violence
Staff Correspondent
Two men stamp on the pink ballot papers for the councillor post reserved for women at Khilgaon Model College polling centre yesterday at 1:33pm. Photo: Star
An early boycott by the BNP took the air out of the city elections in Dhaka and Chittagong yesterday, calling into question the voting process and making the results virtually irrelevant.
Polling agents of BNP-backed candidates were found to be absent in most polling centres and the party eventually handed a walkover to the ruling party contestants just three hours into the voting.
Print and electronic media journalists were shut out from covering the polls process at various centres in Dhaka and Chittagong.
In many centres, ruling Awami League's youth and student fronts took the leading role with help from police in managing the voting process.
About 100 leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) stormed into Dhaka College centre. Split in separate groups, they entered all the six polling booths around 9:00am and started casting votes at their will.
Widespread irregularities, including vote rigging, were reported by the media. The Daily Star teams of 34 reporters witnessed stuffing of ballots by ruling party men in the presence of election officials at 10 centres in Dhaka and five centres in Chittagong.
Law enforcers turned a blind eye to all these irregularities and intimidation of BNP-backed candidates, their workers and journalists.
Sporadic incidents of violence took place during the voting that lacked festivity and enthusiasm among voters despite heavy presence of law enforcers deployed to maintain law and order.
Most of the violence occurred between supporters of AL-backed ward councillor candidates and the party rebels vying for the same posts. The Daily Star reporters did not see any BNP men taking part in violence.
Apart from the BNP, two mayor candidates backed by Communist Party of Bangladesh and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal and another supported by Gono Sanghati Andolan also boycotted the polls to the two city corporations in Dhaka over similar allegations.
Islami Andolon Bangladesh pulled out its mayor aspirants from all the three city corporations while Bangladesh Islamic Front mayor candidate withdrew from Chittagong polls.
Voting to the three local government bodies -- two city corporations in Dhaka and one in Chittagong -- began peacefully at 8:00 in the morning.
But showdown by the ruling party men in and around the polling stations, high-handedness of police officials towards journalists covering the voting and the absence polling agents of BNP-backed candidates in most polling centres started ringing an alarming bell before midday.
As the day progressed, reports of vote rigging began popping up from different centres.
In some cases, election officials helped the ruling party men stuff ballots and in other cases they played the role of silent spectators.
Throughout the day, BNP's mayor candidates complained of “widespread vote rigging” and the battle of ballots virtually died down soon after BNP's announcement to boycott the polls.
BNP Standing Committee Member Barrister Moudud Ahmed announced the boycott at an emergency press conference at the party's Nayapaltan central office around 12:00pm, halfway through the voting.
"It was not an election. It can't be termed an election. We've rejected and boycotted the voter-less elections. It was a mockery of democracy," he said.
He was accompanied by Tabith Awal, the party's mayor candidate for Dhaka north, and Afroza Abbas, wife of Mirza Abbas who was packed by the party for Dhaka south.
Boycotting the election, the candidates brought various allegations against the government and the EC.
BNP-backed candidate for Chittagong City Corporation M Manjur Alam announce his boycott around 11:00am.
However, AL Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif dismissed the allegations outright.
He said BNP's boycott was pre-planned.
"Having sensed their sure defeat, the BNP pulled out of the race. They staged this drama to make an issue for a fresh movement,” Hanif told a press conference at the AL chief's Dhanmondi office.
In the evening, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmed told journalists that he visited various polling centres and saw no irregularities anywhere.
He said he happy with the election and thanked all for helping him hold a "free, fair election".
Earlier, Dhaka North City Corporation mayoral aspirant Zonayed Saki said he had “no confidence” in the voting process and that the polls result would not reflect people's verdict.
At a press conference in the capital, he came up with information of grabbing of 40 polling centres, fake votes, threats to the polling agents and intimidation.
Over a dozen councillor aspirants filed allegations to the EC that ruling party men forced their agents out of the centres.
http://www.thedailys...les-burst-79654
BNP's early walkover makes city results insignificant; irregularities widespread; AL rivals for councilor posts cause violence
Staff Correspondent
Two men stamp on the pink ballot papers for the councillor post reserved for women at Khilgaon Model College polling centre yesterday at 1:33pm. Photo: Star
An early boycott by the BNP took the air out of the city elections in Dhaka and Chittagong yesterday, calling into question the voting process and making the results virtually irrelevant.
Polling agents of BNP-backed candidates were found to be absent in most polling centres and the party eventually handed a walkover to the ruling party contestants just three hours into the voting.
Print and electronic media journalists were shut out from covering the polls process at various centres in Dhaka and Chittagong.
In many centres, ruling Awami League's youth and student fronts took the leading role with help from police in managing the voting process.
About 100 leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) stormed into Dhaka College centre. Split in separate groups, they entered all the six polling booths around 9:00am and started casting votes at their will.
Widespread irregularities, including vote rigging, were reported by the media. The Daily Star teams of 34 reporters witnessed stuffing of ballots by ruling party men in the presence of election officials at 10 centres in Dhaka and five centres in Chittagong.
Law enforcers turned a blind eye to all these irregularities and intimidation of BNP-backed candidates, their workers and journalists.
Sporadic incidents of violence took place during the voting that lacked festivity and enthusiasm among voters despite heavy presence of law enforcers deployed to maintain law and order.
Most of the violence occurred between supporters of AL-backed ward councillor candidates and the party rebels vying for the same posts. The Daily Star reporters did not see any BNP men taking part in violence.
Apart from the BNP, two mayor candidates backed by Communist Party of Bangladesh and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal and another supported by Gono Sanghati Andolan also boycotted the polls to the two city corporations in Dhaka over similar allegations.
Islami Andolon Bangladesh pulled out its mayor aspirants from all the three city corporations while Bangladesh Islamic Front mayor candidate withdrew from Chittagong polls.
Voting to the three local government bodies -- two city corporations in Dhaka and one in Chittagong -- began peacefully at 8:00 in the morning.
But showdown by the ruling party men in and around the polling stations, high-handedness of police officials towards journalists covering the voting and the absence polling agents of BNP-backed candidates in most polling centres started ringing an alarming bell before midday.
As the day progressed, reports of vote rigging began popping up from different centres.
In some cases, election officials helped the ruling party men stuff ballots and in other cases they played the role of silent spectators.
Throughout the day, BNP's mayor candidates complained of “widespread vote rigging” and the battle of ballots virtually died down soon after BNP's announcement to boycott the polls.
BNP Standing Committee Member Barrister Moudud Ahmed announced the boycott at an emergency press conference at the party's Nayapaltan central office around 12:00pm, halfway through the voting.
"It was not an election. It can't be termed an election. We've rejected and boycotted the voter-less elections. It was a mockery of democracy," he said.
He was accompanied by Tabith Awal, the party's mayor candidate for Dhaka north, and Afroza Abbas, wife of Mirza Abbas who was packed by the party for Dhaka south.
Boycotting the election, the candidates brought various allegations against the government and the EC.
BNP-backed candidate for Chittagong City Corporation M Manjur Alam announce his boycott around 11:00am.
However, AL Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif dismissed the allegations outright.
He said BNP's boycott was pre-planned.
"Having sensed their sure defeat, the BNP pulled out of the race. They staged this drama to make an issue for a fresh movement,” Hanif told a press conference at the AL chief's Dhanmondi office.
In the evening, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmed told journalists that he visited various polling centres and saw no irregularities anywhere.
He said he happy with the election and thanked all for helping him hold a "free, fair election".
Earlier, Dhaka North City Corporation mayoral aspirant Zonayed Saki said he had “no confidence” in the voting process and that the polls result would not reflect people's verdict.
At a press conference in the capital, he came up with information of grabbing of 40 polling centres, fake votes, threats to the polling agents and intimidation.
Over a dozen councillor aspirants filed allegations to the EC that ruling party men forced their agents out of the centres.
http://www.thedailys...les-burst-79654
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