DHAKA MAYORAL POLLS Electioneering begins Friday

Electioneering by the candidates will start officially from tomorrow for the forthcoming Dhaka north and south city elections though the Awami League candidates have started soliciting votes putting up posters, banners and other campaign materials.

According to the returning officers, today is the last day of withdrawing nomination papers which had already been declared valid and the ROs will allocate electoral symbols among the candidates tomorrow.

A candidate will be allowed to launch his/her official campaigning after the Election Commission allocated electoral symbols while partisan candidates will get their respective party’s voting symbols and others will get different symbols from EC storage.

City dwellers said that they saw campaign materials of AL‑backed mayoral and councillor candidates at different places in the capital.

Ruling party members of parliament are also participating in the electioneering and holding different meetings though the City Corporation (Electoral Code) Rules 2016 does not allow the MPs to join canvassing.

Beside, after holding a meeting with a Awami League delegation, led by HT Imam, the political adviser to the prime minister and co-chairman of the AL election conducting committee, election commissioner Mahbub Talukder told reporters that there was no way to allow MPs in election campaigning.

While asked about the AL appointment of two AL MPs to cooperate electioneering of the party candidates, Mahbub Talukder said he had nothing to say about it.

Awami League has assigned its advisory council members and MPs Amir Hossain Amu and Tofail Ahmed to coordinate its city election activities. The polls to the Dhaka north and south cities are scheduled to be held on January 30.

Besides, responding to the EC’s show‑cause notice, Awami League’s Dhaka north city mayor candidate Atiqul Islam on Wednesday claimed that he did not violate any electoral code of conduct.

Earlier on January 6, the EC issued the show-cause notice to Atiqul, saying that Atiqul along with a parliament member inaugurated an election campaign camp in Uttara on January 5 which is a clear violation of the electoral rules.

Meanwhile, Awami League asked its leaders, who had submitted nomination papers councillor posts against the party‑backed candidates, to withdraw their candidature.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net