AL’s mayoral favourites get campaign advantage

In Dhaka North City, Mayoral nominees, Annisul Huq of ruling Awami League and Tabith Awal of opposition BNP carried out campaigns on Saturday blocking busy roads  breaching the Electoral Code of Conduct. Like Annis in DNC, ruling AL mayoral nominee for Dhaka South City Sayeed Khokon also sought voters’ support so that they could serve their electorates. In Dhaka South City, as BNP’s mayoral nominee Mirza Abbas could not yet start his campaigns, his wife Afroza Abbas has been moving door to door to seek vote for him. She said that her husband’s campaigners were facing threats. Afroza Abbas demanded level playing field for all the candidates and deployment of army troops to oversee polling. She also demanding setting up of close-circuit television cameras at polling stations to check ballot stufing. In Dhaka North City, following the footsteps of Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh mayoral candidate Mahi B Chowdhury, ruling AL’s  Annisul Huq launched a street cleaning up drive in front of Shooting Club at Gulshan which created serious traffic jams. Voters in the area said Annis had no right to create such traffic jams in a busy area violating the electoral code of conduct which prohibits campaigns blocking roads.

Taking a break Annis told reporters, that he would beg for an opportunity to serve the voters just as he was cleaning up the streets. At around 10 AM, Annis had begun his day’s campaigns at Pallabi. Local AL MP and leaders were with Annis. When asked why he was flouting the electoral code of conduct being the ruling party’s mayoral nominee, Annis said such allegations were being made only because he was on the race as the ruling party  candidate. ‘I would expect the people to vote for a good man and I don’t think I would be too bad as a mayor,’ said Annis. During his campaigns at Uttara, Mahi B Chowdhury thanked Annis for cleaning up a  street just as the new generation wants. Tabith Awal said that as the Election Commission could not create an atmosphere conducive for fair election he was facing obstacles at every step. He said that the arrests, harassments and filing false cases must stop for creating a congenial atmosphere for election. Tabith began his campaigns from Gabtali bus terminal by blocking a busy road breaching the electoral code of conduct. His supporters took out election processions during his campaign trail at different parts of  the area flouting the electoral code. The promises made for providing a congenial atmosphere for election are proving hollow, he said. ‘For us there is simply no congenial  atmosphere for election as yet. More and more hindrances are being created for us, by way of increasing attacks, arrests and filing false cases,’ Tabith told reporters. He said the fear of enforcement disappearances were keeping many of his workers away from the campaigns. BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia campaigns for  Tabith. Ganasanghati Andolan’s mayoral candidate Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki began his  campaigns for the day at Mirpur 10. Later, the campaigns took him to Benarashi Palli, Kalshi, Pallabi and Geneva Camp, where people told him about their problems. He told the voters that if he was elected he would try his best to solve the problems. During his campaigns, AL’s mayoral candidate for Dhaka South City Sayeed Khokon promised that if elected he would develop DCS. At Kamrangirchar, Khokon said, ‘It is for the people to judge to what extent my contestant had carried out development activities during his tenure as the mayor of Dhaka. Aforza Abbas, wife of Mirza Abbas,  campaigned for the mayoral candidate at several areas. During her campaign at Gopibagh she said  that the police were  harassing her workers on the pretext of providing her security. She said that the Election Commission took no action against the harassment of her workers by the police though she lodged complaints to it. How the police would justify cordoning off a voter’s residence and search every room there only because she had gone there to campaign, she asked. She demanded setting up CCTV cameras at  every polling centre and deployment of army troops for holding fair election.

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