Dhaka City Polls Awami League, BNP to select candidates today

Both the ruling Awami League and opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party said that they would select today their candidates for the upcoming elections to the two Dhaka city corporations. 

 

The mayors and councillors of Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka South City Corporations would be chosen in the elections scheduled to be held on January 30.

Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader told a press conference at the party president’s political office at Dhanmondi in the capital on Friday that his party would finalise their candidates today. He said that the decision would be taken at a meeting of the party’s Local Government Nomination Board to be chaired by party president and prime minister Sheikh Hasina at the PM’s official residence Ganabhaban at 6:00pm.

He said that no controversial persons would get his party’s nomination for the elections.

‘Only people with clean records will get nomination,’ he said, adding, ‘Popularity, acceptance and good reputation will be considered for the DNCC and DSCC mayoral posts.’

Eight aspirants sought AL nomination for the mayor post of Dhaka South City while 12 aspirants for the Dhaka North City mayor seat.

DSCC incumbent mayor Sayeed Khokon, AL lawmakers Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh and Haji M Selim, AL law affairs secretary Nazibullah HIru, Muktijoddha Sangsad central command council’s former secretary general MA Rashid, Sheikh Russel Jatiya Shishu Kishore Parishad advisor M Nazmul Haque, Bangabandhu Parishad president Ashraf Hossain Siddique, and Dhaka South City AL’s former president Haji Abul Hasnat sought nominations from the AL to contest for Dhaka South City mayor post.

DNCC incumbent mayor M Atiqul Islam, Bangabandhu Foundation joint general secretary Shahidullah Osmani, AL Bhasantek thana unit vice-president M Yead Ali Fakir, party activist M Jaman Bhuyan, Bangabandhu Foundation vice-president Md Kutubuddin, AL Greece unit vice-president Md Idris Ali Molla, Juba League former organising secretary Salauddin Mahmud, AL religious affairs sub-committee member Zerin Sultana Kanta and party activists Helem Jahangir, Adam Tamiji Huq, Khairul Majid and Rehana Farhad sought AL nominations to run for the  Dhaka South City mayor position.

Until Friday afternoon, Khokon, Taposh, Selim and Atiqul submitted their nomination forms at the party president’s political office at Dhanmondi.

The ruling party would continue to receive the party nomination forms until today.

BNP senior joint secretary-general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, talking to reporters at the party central office at capital’s Naya Paltan after submission of party nomination forms by its three mayoral aspirants there on Friday afternoon, said that his party would select the candidates for both the city corporations today.

BNP special secretary Asaduzzaman Ripon and executive committee member Tabith Awal submitted party nomination forms for the Dhaka North City mayor post, while the party chairperson’s international affairs adviser and former Dhaka City mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka’s son Ishraque Hossain alone submitted nomination form for the Dhaka South City mayor slot on Friday.

Tabith and Ishraque came to the party central office together at about 4:00pm to submit their nomination forms and, after minutes, Asaduzzaman Ripon submitted his form. All the three aspirants came to the office along with their followers.

‘As Ishraque is the lone aspirant for the Dhaka South City mayor position, announcement of his candidature is now only a formality,’ Rizvi said.

All the three BNP candidates, after submitting their nomination forms, doubted whether the election would be free and fair.

They said that the issue of releasing party chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia would get the top priority in their election campaigns.

Asaduzzaman Ripon, however, said that his party should boycott this election as no election under this government and this election commission was free and fair.

As per the election schedule, the last date for nomination paper submission to the returning officers is December 31 while the nomination papers would be scrutinised on January 2. The deadline for withdrawing candidature is January 9.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net