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2 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2016 DT News Ivy stays Narayanganj mayor LEAD STORY • Tribune Desk The ruling Awami League-backed candidate Selina Hayat Ivy has been re-elected as Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) mayor by a wide margin. She defeated BNP candidate Sakhawat Hossain Khan by over 79,567 votes and also won her rival’s neighbourhood with 1,930 votes, in one of the most peaceful, incident-free elections Bangladesh has ever seen. Although many had feared violence because of the “Shamim Osman factor,” the NCC elections only saw one attempted fake vote casting and three people being fined for minor breach of code of conduct. Returning Officer Md Nuruzzaman Talukder announced the unofficial results at the election control room, saying that the voter turnout was 62.33% at 174 polling centres combined. Two election monitoring NGOs – Democracywatch and Brotee – expressed their satisfaction over the polls. The two main mayoral candidates from the BNP and the Awami League, election observers and the Election Commission said they were satisfied by how the election was conducted. Ivy cast her vote at Sishubagh School polling centre while BNP candidate Shakhawat cast his vote at the Adarsha School centre saying he will accept the results if the election was fair and impartial. There was a large presence of law enforcers with around 9,500 officials deployed to ensure safety and security. Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad briefed the press after the polls closed at 4pm: “The election was held peacefully and we have began to count the votes, the security provided has let people cast their votes without intimidation and fear.” The NCC elections were held so peacefully with such a festive atmosphere that it has set the bar very high for the ruling Awami League for all upcoming elections to be held in such a free and fair manner. Peaceful election During the election yesterday the roads in Narayanganj where full N C C P O L L S I N N U M B E R S 474,931 registered voters 174 polling stations Vote’s for Selina Hayat Ivy 175,611 Vote’s for Shakhawat Hossain Khan 96,044 Selina Hayat Ivy shows the victory sign as her supporters cheer outside her home after unofficial result of her win in yesterday’s Narayanganj City Corporation polls arrive MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU I dedicate this victory to Bangabandhu and Sheikh Hasina - Selina Hayat Ivy Number of law enforcers deployed 9,500 Votes counted in 174 centres I have information that the votes have been subtly manipulated - Shakhawat Hossain Khan of voters creating a festive atmosphere with the queues starting at poll centres as early as 8am. Jahangir Alam, presiding officer of Safura Khatun Pilot High School polling station under Ward 6, said he had never seen such a peaceful election in his life. Similar remarks were made by Centre 15 Presiding Officer Akmal Hossain as he told the Dhaka Tribune that the election went smoothly and was very peaceful. However, he said that voters faced some difficulties in the morning finding their polling booths at the centre because there was a huge rush of voters. The scene around all the 174 polling centres was very similar. The Awami League and BNP activists and supporters of the councillor candidates gathered in small number at different places and campaigned for their candidates with no incident of voter intimidation being reported. Teams of mobile courts run by magistrates and of law enforcers monitored the polling centres. Shahzadi Tahmina, a judicial magistrate, told the Dhaka Tribune that they did not find any case of violation of electoral code of conduct when she visited three polling centres at 3pm. All reports indicated that the NCC elections have been one of the most successfully run polls Bangladesh has seen. This has set the bar very high for all the upcoming elections in the country. • Dhaka Tribune Narayanganj Correspondent Tanveer Hossain, staff reporters Ashif Islam Shaon, Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique, Manik Miazee and Nure Alam Durjoy and staff photojournalists Rajib Dhar and Mahmud Hossain Opu contributed to this report CEC: Assistance of candidates and supporters made election peaceful • Shohel Mamun Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad yesterday said the Narayanganj City Corporation polls were completed peacefully and successfully. “With the assistance of candidates and supporters, voting in Narayanganj City Corporation election has been completed peacefully with no untoward incidents,” he said while briefing reporters at the Election Commission in Dhaka following the completion of voting at NCC polling centres. “Every time, our goal is to arrange a peaceful election, however, we have not had success several times. Today [yesterday], though we conducted only one mayoral polls, a large number of law enforcers were appointed to ensure security. “But the most significant issue is that the candidates and supporters contributed more in conducting a peaceful election,” he added. “This proves that if the candidates and supporters help the Election Commission, it becomes an easy task,” he further said. The CEC praised the effort of law enforcement agencies and the local administration, saying they have worked hard for the polls. However, there were three individuals who violated the electoral rules and they were punished with Tk8,000 as fine, he added. Rakibuddin said: “It is much appreciated that no violence have occurred and no one broke discipline. We hope that the candidates will accept the verdict of the people.” •
News 3 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2016 BNP’S LIVELY PRESENCE AT POLLS Grassroots hopes for a return to electoral politics DT • Nure Alam Durjoy After a peaceful election to Narayanganj City Corporation yesterday, grassroots BNP is now hopeful about the party’s getting back to electoral politics. BNP activists in Narayanganj enthusiastically participated in the city corporation election yesterday. Voting ended for the second Narayanganj city polls yesterday ‘Paddy sheaf’ symbol won Shakhawat votes • Ashif Islam Shaon A majority of the voters who cast their ballots in favour of Shakhawat Hossain Khan, the BNP-backed mayoral candidate in yesterday’s Narayanganj City Corporation polls, did it for the party, not the candidate. This is what the grassroots activists of BNP and its affiliates observed throughout the polling day, as they told the Dhaka Tribune. “We are happy just to see our party participating in an election successfully after a long time,” said several grassroots workers at different polling centres. Shakhawat, who is not much known beyond his reputation as a lawyer and holds no importation position in the party, won most of his votes because he represented the BNP’s comeback in the country’s electoral system, they said. with a remarkable absence of any violent or confrontational incidents. Many of BNP’s grassroots activists told the Dhaka Tribune that the festive and peaceful environment had raised their hopes of the party returning to electoral politics. Md Selim Molla, the organising secretary of Ward 17 BNP unit, said he and his fellow party men were elated to be able to return to the “In the last city polls [in Narayanganj], we had no candidate to campaign for. Many of us supported Ivy [who was an independent candidate in the last election]. Ivy won mainly due to votes from our people,” said Parvez Mallik, a grassroots leader of Jatiyatabadi Matsajibi Dal, a BNP affiliate. “This time we have our own candidate. We will bring a change,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. Mallik was working at Shishubagh Bidyalay polling centre in the city’s Paschim Deobhog area in the afternoon. Selina Hayat Ivy, the Awami League-backed candidate running for mayor, had cast her vote at the centre a few hours ago. Mallik was with a team of BNP activists and local leaders, all of them wearing badges depicting a paddy sheaf – BNP’s electoral symbol. The team was helping voters to A large number of voters queue at the Narayanganj Club polling centre yesterday to cast vote for mayoral candidates for the NCC polls MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU find out their serial numbers on the voters’ list. The Dhaka Tribune also spoke with Delwar Hossain, a leader of Jatiyatabadi Tarun Dal, another BNP affiliate in Narayanganj, who said the local BNP members would be happy if Shakhawat managed to win 50% of the votes. “What makes us the happiest is the fact that we are here working for the BNP candidate without any fear and obstacle. It does not matter to us who the candidate is,” he said. Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, streets chanting slogans. “We openly worked to campaign for our candidate,” he said. “We had no candidate in the last election. Party activists are happy to be able to return to an environment of election,” Selim added. Local activists had been instructed to be on the ground until the results were announced, if the polling was peaceful, he said. At Gopnagar Government Primary School centre in Ward 18, Ruma Akhter, a polling agent for BNP-backed candidate Shakhawat Hossain Khan, said her party was actively and enthusiastically participating in the election process. “BNP agents are present in all 10 booths in this centre, even though not all booths have Awami League agents,” she said. In Siddhirganj Ward 12, at the Bar Academy Building polling centre where ruling party MP Shamim Osman marked his ballot, BNP agents were seen in abundance. Supporters were present outside the centre as well, wearing their candidate’s image and the BNP logo. In the many polling centres that this correspondent visited, BNP polling agents were present in each. In Siddhirganj, a voter named Abdul Hai told the Dhaka Tribune he had seen energy and spirit among voters. “So many people have turned out to vote. I am hopeful that this will mark a turn towards healthy politics,” he said. The party’s central leadership, however, refused to comment on this issue. Most of the central leaders could not be reached. BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said he would not comment on this just yet. After the third phase of Union Parishad elections ended with widespread violence, BNP was found to have scraped up only onethird of the total votes. • local leaders and activists said a good number of BNP followers firmly believed that their party would make it to the city corporation because of the ruling party’s negative impression. “We have silent supporters who despise Awami League’s repression and their past records of vote rigging in elections,” said a BNP leader in the city’s Ward 17, seeking anonymity. “Some of our city and district-level leaders were unhappy when Shakhawat got the election ticket. But all of us have been instructed to work for him by the party high command. We must work for the party,” he told the Dhaka Tribune at the poll centre in Paikpara Government Primary School. However, Shakhawat could not make it to a government office this time, losing to Ivy by 79,567 votes, according to the final vote count in 174 poll centres. • Is Shamim’s ballot flash unlawful? • Shohel Mamun Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman drew the ire of some when he cast his vote openly yesterday during the Narayanganj City Corporation Election. A lawyer as well as field-level officials of the polls said that it was a criminal offence to cast the vote publicly. However, the Election Commission (EC) secretary said there had been no violation. Shamim cast the vote at the Narayanganj Bar Academy polling centre, along with many supporters and in the presence of journalists. Presiding Officer Bahauddin told the reporters that after taking the ballot paper from the polling officer, Shamim Osman cast his vote for mayoral candidate openly, without using the secret room, which violates discipline. Swadhin Malik, a senior lawyer, said: “Publicly casting the vote is a violation of the electoral rules. It is a criminal offence. As such, the EC will have legal authority to take action against Shamim Osman.” EC Secretary Muhammad Abdullah, on the other hand, told the Dhaka Tribune: “The secret ballot rule is there to ensure the safety of voters. If a voter takes his safety into his own hands and casts his vote openly, it would not be a criminal offence, as far as I know.” When asked about the matter at a press briefing, Shamim Osman replied: “The journalists have not found any wrongdoing to report on in this election. So they have fixated on this issue instead.” •
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