GAZIPUR CITY CORPORATION AL takes lead in ‘rigged’ polls

Ruling Awami League mayoral candidate Md Jahangir Alam was leading in Gazipur City Corporation polls, marred by allegations of massive irregularities, on Tuesday.
Until 12:45am today, the AL-backed mayoral candidate got 1,05,915 votes and Bangladesh Nationalist Party-backed mayoral candidate Hasan Uddin Sarkar bagged 59,747 votes as per the vote count of 121 centres, according to GCC returning officer’s office. 
Besides, of the five other mayoral candidates, CPB’s Kazi Mohammad Ruhul Amin got 260 votes, Islami Oikya Jote’s Fazlur Rahman 481 votes, Islami Andolan Bangladesh’s M Nasir Uddin 7803 votes, Bangladesh Islami Front M Jalal Uddin 986 votes and independent runner Farid Ahmed got 607 votes.

Top, Awami League mayoral candidate Md Jahangir Alam shows V-sign. Left, an election official with an ID card without any photograph sits in front of stamped ballot papers in Sharifpur Government Primary School polling centre during Gazipur city elections on Tuesday. — New Age photo

There was no major incident of violence but the polling were suspended at nine centres following ballot stuffing and anarchy, said election commission secretary Helaluddin Ahmed.
The centres were dominated by activists of ruling Awami League mayoral candidate Jahangir Alam, who moved in and around the polling centres in free style, violating electoral codes, with law enforcers playing the role of bystanders, said witnesses.
Campaigners carrying BNP candidate’s badge could not be found in and around most of the centres. 
There was no polling agent of BNP in many polling booths while many were seen posing as BNP mayoral candidate’s polling agents with their identity cards having no photograph of their own. 
Voters brought out a procession outside Mogorkhal Government Primary School polling centre under Sadar upazila demanding ballots Tuesday morning after a group of youths wearing badges of Awami League mayoral candidate Jahangir Alam entered the polling booths and began ballot stuffing in favour of AL’s election symbol boat in presence of election officials and law enforcers, witnesses said.
Gazipur district superintendent of police Harun-ur-Rashid, however, at Rani Bilash High School polling centre told reporters in the
afternoon that he had no information of any irregularity and the returning officer did not inform him about any such incident.  
BNP mayoral candidate Hasan Uddin Sarkar told New Age that AL in Gazipur broke all its previous records of polls manipulation and that his polling agents were driven out from booths of over 100 centres.
He urged BNP central leaders to rethink taking part in any more elections under this government as well as this Election Commission.
He said that plain-clothes law enforcers picked up at least 16 of his polling agents in early hours of polling while AL men posed as agents of BNP at many polling centres.
Hasan, in a press briefing around 1:00pm at BNP district office, urged EC to stop the GCC elections and arrange fresh polls.
His chief election agent Md Sohrab Uddin said they filed a petition with the returning officer at 3:00pm in this connection.
AL mayoral candidate, on the other hand, hailed the balloting as largely free, fair and peaceful and said BNP brought the allegations to make the polls controversial.
He also said that BNP failed to appoint necessary number of polling agents for their internal dispute and now they were trying the put the blame on AL’s shoulder.
‘The election was free and fair. But we have received allegations of irregularities from a few centres. We have been taking action in this connection,’ said returning officer Rakib Uddin.
AL candidate Jahangir Alam cast his vote at Kanaiya Government Primary School centre at 9:15am and BNP candidate Hasan Uddin Sarker at Bashir Uddin Academy centre of ward 54 at 8:25am.
Islami Andolan Bangladesh’s mayoral candidate Nasir Uddin, in a press release in the evening, alleged that there was widespread vote rigging in the GCC elections. 
Addressing a post-polls press conference, EC secretary Helaluddin Ahmed said that chief election commissioner KM Nurul Huda and other commissioner expressed their satisfaction over Gazipur mayoral polls.
He said that the election was held peacefully and in a festive manner while that the EC suspended voting of nine polling centres for various irregularities.
The nine centres are — Khartoil Mansur Ali Adarsha School center 1 and 2, Hazi Piar Ali Government Primary School centre, Jahan Pablic Dattapara Tangi centre, Bhogra Government Primary School centre, Kunia Hazi Abdul Latif Government Primary School centre 1 and 2, Machine Tools High School centre and Biddan Government Primary School centre.
At Shahid Smriti High School centre at Joydevpur, a number of youths entered the centre and overtook room 203 and 204 around 10:30am and continued ballot stuffing for some time. 
They were supporters of councillor candidate Hannan Mia Hanu and, as supporters of their rival candidate as well as media personnel arrived, they fled with the help of police. 
No agent for BNP mayoral candidate was found in three of the booths of the centre.
No voter was allowed to enter the booths of the centre for about 20 minutes while presiding officer Saiful Islam said that nothing serous happened there and that 15 per cent of 3,000 votes were cast by 10:00am.
‘I have sent SMS to the EC,’ a terrified Saiful said, trembling.
At Paschim Jaydebpur Government Primary School Centre, long queues of females were seen outside the centre and police personnel were allowing two to five of them to enter after minutes’ interval.
Kabita Khanom, a female voter in the queue, said at 12:10pm that she was in the queue from 9:45am and could not cast her vote. 
‘Many women outside the queue were entering and going out after casting votes,’ she said, asking whether they were favoured by the administration.
Presiding officer Md Humayun Kabir said a total of 600 votes, out of 3,019, were cast until 12:00pm and he had no allegation of irregularity.
At Mograkhal government primary school centre, the agents of Awami League and their supporters continued stuffing ballots from 9:30am to 10:30am driving out agents of BNP, said one of BNP’s agents Aminul Islam.
As the ballots ran out and the voters could not enter the polling centre, some people were seen chanting slogans demanding ballots but police took the situation under control.
Presiding officer Zahirul Islam said there were minor problems in the morning at the centre.
At Monnu Textile Mills High School polling centre in Tongi, Md Abu Shaker, who identified himself as a polling agent of BNP mayoral candidate, did not have his photo on his identity card. ‘I was in a hurry and forgot to attach the photo.’
About 1:00pm, a youth wearing a badge of AL mayoral candidate, was seen to direct voters in a polling booth of BDP High School centre. When asked about his identity, he left the polling booth.
As the poll was underway, a delegation of ruling Awami League and another of BNP met the CEC at his office in Dhaka.
Emerging from the meeting, BNP vice-chairman Barkatullah Bulu said that they had complaints against Gazipur SP Harun-ar-Rashid and about different types of irregularities in 110 polling centres but the commission did not take any action.
The BNP leader said that they filed complaints with the EC over ballot stuffing, occupying polling stations and ousting polling agents from the poling centres by AL activists in cooperation with police soon after voting began.
Asked about BNP’s allegation, EC secretary said that the commission was unaware about any such incident in the election.
Immediately after the meeting between EC and BNP, a ruling party delegation, led by its organising secretary Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Noufel, met the CEC.
After half an hour of the meeting, Noufel told reporters that AL was satisfied with the EC’s role in Gazipur mayoral polls as the election was free and fair.
The balloting began at 8:00am and ended at 4:00pm without any break at 425 polling stations in the city where the day was a general holiday.
Electronic voting machines were used in six centres while closed-circuit television cameras were installed at two centres.
A total of 254 candidates vied for 56 posts of general councillors and 84 candidates for 19 reserved-seats for female councillors. However, a councillor was already elected unopposed.
A total of 1,137,736 voters — 569,935 males and 567,801 females — were expected to exercise their franchise in the election.
A total of 29 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh were deployed in Gazipur. The platoons will remain on duty till June 27.
Earlier, the GCC polls were scheduled to be held on May 15 while the High Court stayed it.
Later, the Appellate Division reviewed the High Court order and asked the Election Commission to hold the Gazipur City Corporation Election within June 28.

News Courtesy: www.cnn.com