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Dhaka South City, Dhaka North City and Chittagong are set to go to mayoral polls today in the backdrop of opposition BNP candidates expressing doubts whether the polling would be free and fair. In the capital out of 1, 982 polling stations 1,429 have been marked as vulnerable by Dhaka Metropolitan Police. But the DMP gave no break up the vulnerable polling stations in DSC and DNC. DMP said it has taken special security measures for the vulnerable polling stations.
In Dhaka South City 18,70,73 registered voters are entitled to cast their votes. Dhaka North City has 23,45,374 registered voters. Chittagong has 18,70,753 registered voters. BNP candidates, who faced various obstructions, said that the Election Commission failed to provide level playing field needed for free and fair elections. Raids by police in uniform and plainclothes at the houses of the opposition candidates and their polling agents on the eve of the elections bred fears among the voters as well raising the doubts about free and fair holding of polls. But the doubts and speculations were brushed side by chief election commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad saying the elections would be held in free and fair atmosphere. He urged the voters to go to polling stations shedding fears.
The mayoral elections in the three cities took the centre stage of national politics with the major parties, bent on winning, nominated candidates, though under the Election Commission’s nomenclature these are non partisan polls. Former prime minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia briefly campaigned for her party candidates in Dhaka South City and Dhaka North City. She began the campaigns rather late which were cut short by attacks from the ruling party activists. Though prime minister Sheikh Hasina introduced ruling Awami League’s mayoral candidates, she did not directly campaign for them. Ruling AL candidates began the campaigns before the stipulated time flouting the electoral code of conduct with the EC looking the other way drawing criticism from poll watchers and civil society.
BNP candidates faced various obstructions and the EC ignored their complaints. The mayoral race in Dhaka North City drew 16 candidates, 277 aspirants for 36 common seats of councilors and 88 women for 12 e seats reserved for them. Dhaka South City mayoral race drew 20 aspirants, 386 aspirants for 57 common seats of councilors and 95 women for 19 seats reserved for them. The mayoral race in the port city of Chittagong drew 12 candidates, 213 aspirants for 41 common seats of councilors and 61 women for 17 seats reserved for them. In Dhaka North City frontrunners are BNP’s mayoral candidate Tabith Awal and ruling Awami League’s Annisul Huq. In Dhaka North City, Gana Sanghati Andolan’s Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki and Bikalpa Dhara’s Mahi B Chowdhury are also prominent contestants. Mirza Abbas of BNP and ruling Awami League’s Sayeed Khokon are front runners in the mayoral race in Dhaka South City. As Mirza Abbas could not campaign himself his wife Aforza Abbas did all the campaigning for him.
BNP leader Asaduzzaman Ripon, Jatiya Party’s Saifuddin Milon and former AL MP Golam Mawla Roni are also in the mayoral race in DSC. BNP complained that it faced threats in recruiting polling agents while Communist Party of Bangladesh and Socialist Party of Bangladesh expressed fears that violence and the use money could mar the polls. - See more at: http://newagebd.net/115326/polls-today-as-tension-runs-high/#sthash.fqTiwr8b.dpuf
