Campaigns end midnight tonight City witnesses hectic electioneering.

Campaigns for the elections to three city corporations in Dhaka and Chittagong will be ending at midnight tonight with the opposition-backed candidates expressing doubts over fair elections. Though the ruling party-backed candidates raised no questions about the election atmosphere, the opposition- supported candidates and a section of voters expressed  doubt whether the much-touted city polls would be held in a free, fair and neutral manner, given the way their workers were being ‘arrested, harassed and attacked’. Candidates in the April 28 elections to the three city corporations conducted hectic electioneering on Saturday to woo the voters with the civic elections taking the centre stage of politics. Most of the candidates, mayoral ones in particular, went from door to door and from one neighbourhood to another in a bid to reach out to as many voters as possible within the campaign deadline. Incidents of arrest, harassment and attack on the opposition-backed candidates and on their workers have caused worries among the voters whether they would be able to cast their votes freely.

A BNP leader was shot at allegedly by Chhatra League activists during election campaign in the city’s Goran neighbourhood on Saturday afternoon. Nazmul Huda, 45, acting president of ward 2 BNP unit, was shot in the leg when alleged activists of BCL opened fire during electioneering for the party-backed mayoral candidate Mirza Abbas around 4:00pm at Goran tempo stand. He took primary treatment in Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Annisul Huq, Awami League’s mayoral favourite for Dhaka North city, attended a campaign meeting at Tejgaon College where he called on the voters to vote for honest and experienced candidate in the civic polls. He sought vote not only from AL supporters but also from neutral and conscientious voters saying that the election was not a fight for ideology rather for addressing the civic problems. Annisul, a frontrunner for Dhaka North city mayor, also visited Kachukhet Bazar, Kafrul, Damalcoat, Bhashantek, Matikata, Manikdi, Mirpur and Uttara on his campaign trail. Sayeed Khokon, the AL-backed mayoral candidate for Dhaka South city, started campaign on the day from Maniknagar Bara Masjid Pukur Par at Sabujbagh. He also visited Nawabpur, Lalbagh, Dhakeswari and Balur Math areas seeking votes. Khokon also joined a discussion organised by daily Bangladesh Pratidin on the day.

Talking to newsmen during their election campaigns at different places in the capital city, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-backed mayoral candidate for Dhaka North city, Tabith Awal and Afroza Abbas, wife of Mirza Abbas, the party’s mayoral favourite for Dhaka South city, expressed doubt whether the polls would be free and fair. ‘We have every doubt whether the polls will be fair. The Election Commission’s flip-flopping on army deployment for the polling has vindicated our suspicion,’ Tabith told reporters during electioneering at Uttara. Afroza Abbas accused the government of pushing the city polls into ‘confrontation’ through its ‘aggressive’ attitude. ‘We hoped the election would be free and fair, but the way the government is attacking our leaders and activists and threatening our  polling agents, we have reason to believe that it is trying to create a confrontational situation over the polls,’ she said. The Election Commission has almost completed preparations for free and fair polls, the commission secretary Sirazul Islam told newsmen at his office on Saturday.

The commission has imposed a ban on movement motorbikes from midnight past Saturday to 6:00am on April 29 in the three cities and asked outsiders – who are not residents or voters in the three city corporation areas – to leave the election areas by Saturday. At the same time, a ban would be imposed on the movement of ferries, speedboats, auto-rickshaws, taxi-cabs, microbuses, pick-ups, cars, buses and trucks from midnight past April 27 to midnight April 28. Briefing reporters at its media center, DMP commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia said that 12 police and Ansar personnel with firearms and 12 more Ansar personnel without firearms would be deployed to the ‘important’ polling stations and 10 police and Ansar personnel with firearms would be deployed to each of the other polling stations. The DMP chief said that 1,429 out of 1,982 polling stations were ‘important’. One hundred platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh personnel will be deployed to the three city corporation areas –35 each to Dhaka South and North city corporation areas and 30 to Chittagong city corporation areas. A total of 2,144 personnel of Rapid Action Battalion will be deployed with the highest 912 to the DSCC areas. Besides 238 coast guard members will be deployed. The European Union has said voters in Bangladesh must be given the opportunity to express freely their democratic choice. ‘In the run-up to the vote for the mayoral elections in Dhaka and Chittagong, all sides must refrain from any actions that could spark further violence in Bangladesh,’ said the EU spokesperson in a statement on Saturday.

- See more at: http://newagebd.net/114796/campaigns-end-midnight-tonight/#sthash.IcEwVmCE.dpuf