MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS : Campaigns end amid violence [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS : Campaigns end amid violence

Local December 29, 2015

Amid widespread violence and harassments by supporters of ruling Awami League candidates the campaigns in the country’s maiden municipal mayoral elections, under party nominations, set for tomorrow, ended on Monday midnight.
In the staggered elections, 234 municipalities would go to polls on the first day.
The schedule for the mayoral polls in the remaining 89 municipalities would be announced by the Election Commission later.
In the last leg of the door to door campaigns on Monday, the mayoral and the other candidates desperately wooed the voters with various sweeteners.
The Election Commission said that it was optimistic that the voters would be able to cast their votes without any obstructions.
The EC said that it issued instructions to the field level officials overseeing the polls to arrest any outsider overstaying in the polling areas after the Monday midnight.
The EC said it formed a seven-member election monitoring cell led by national identity card project director general Brigadier General Sultanuzzaman Mohammed Saleh Uddin to oversee the security and polling arrangements during the polling hours and the night preceding the polling day, election commissioner Md Shah Newaz told reporters.
On Monday, the EC in a letter asked Sirajganj-3 MP Amjad Hossain Milon to leave the area.
The EC also served a show-cause notice AL’s mayoral candidate for Raiganj Abdullah Al Pathan.
The EC also directed the home ministry to withdraw the officers-in-charge of Phulpur police station, Mymensingh and Sahajadpur police station in Sirajganj after they flouted the electoral code of conduct, said EC officials.
Speaking at a news conference on Monday, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that BNP candidates were being subjected to terror tactics and intimidation by the ruling AL men to keep them off the civic polls.
He said that as the ruling party men created a reign of terror in every municipal area, BNP candidates had to stop their campaigns in several areas.
He said that law enforcement agencies arrested over 6,000 BNP men and leaders since polls process began.
BNP mayoral candidate at Satkania Rafiqul Alam on Monday returned to the race after announcing his withdrawal on Sunday.
In Chittagong, at least 10 BNP activists were injured in attacks on the motorcade of BNP leader Aslam Chowdhury during Monday’s campaigns at Satkania.
Chittagong north district BNP chapter convener Aslam Chowdhury said that a group of miscreants threw brickbats at their motorcade damaging three cars during the final campaigns.
In Barguna district, BNP mayoral candidate for Patharghata Mollik Mohammad received threats on Monday morning that he would be killed unless he withdrew from the contest.
The intimidators also sent him a coffin shroud.
Later, the police lodged a general dairy in this regard after taking away the shroud.
Patharghata police officer-in-charge GM Shahnewaj said that the matter was under investigation.
Mollik blamed his rivals for the threat.
In Chittagong district, at least five journalists were injured and furniture of the Sitakunda Press Club were damaged in an attack by AL activists on Sunday night.
According to eyewitness accounts during the attack on the press club, AL’s rebel mayoral candidate for Sitakunda Safiul Alma was under sieged for at least two and half hours at the Press Club as he preparing to hold a news conference against AL’s official nominee Badiul Alam.
In Naril district, at least two campaigners for independent mayoral candidate Sardar Alomgir Hossain were injured in an attack allegedly by supporters of AL’s mayoral candidate Jahangir Hossain.
In Bagerhat, AL activists torched a pick up of AL’s rebel mayoral candidate Hasibul Hasan Shipon on Monday during the campaign proceedings in front of Poura Government Primary School.
In another incident in Bagerhat, at least six activists of BNP mayoral candidate for Morrelganj Majid Jabbar were injured in attacks allegedly by AL activist on Jabbar’s house on Monday.
Gazi Television’s Bagerhat correspondent Jamal Hossain also came under attack while returing to the district town after cover the incident.
In Jessore, clashes took polace between the activists of AL candidate Nuruddin Alam and AL rebel candidate SM Saifur Rahman in Chowgacha municipality.
In Sherpur, the local administration imposed section 144 at Shaheed Minar Chattar area of Nalitabari upazila on Monday as the supporters of AL mayoral candidate and its rebel candidate called separate programmes at the same venue and time.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Nalitabari Abu Sayeed Molla said a clash ensued between the supporters of AL mayoral candidate Abu Bakkar and the party’s rebel candidate Abdul Halim Ukil during the election campaign at Uttar Bazaar in Nalitabari municipality on Sunday evening.
New Age correspondent reported from the outlying districts the Bangladesh Border Guard was patrolling the municipal areas.
The EC said that it deployed 279 platoons BGB in 229 municipal areas for four days from Monday.