Despite raising allegations about rigging and a number of candidates announcing boycott, the candidates affiliated with the BNP have unofficially triumphed in 42 out of the 97 upazilas that went into polls yesterday, giving the party an unbeatable lead for the time being.
On the other hand, the candidates from the ruling Awami League’s tent have clinched the chairmen’s post in 35 upazilas, according to unofficial results.
Candidates backed by Jamaat-e-Islami, BNP’s key ally in the 19-party alliance, have secured 13 upazilas until filing of this report around 1:30am.
Among the remaining upazilas, two went to independent candidates, two to the UPDF from the hill tracts, and the rest to some of the other less known political parties.
The Ashashoni upazila of Satkhira – known as a stronghold of Jamaat – has elected an Awami League-backed candidate.
Meanwhile in Bogra – known as a BNP monopoly – Jamaat-backed chairman contenders have come out on top in three out of the six upazilas that went into polls yesterday; the remaining three went to BNP-backed runners.
In Jessore’s Abhaynagar upazila that frequently made headlines before and after last month’s parliamentary poll for the attacks on minorities and the alleged involvement of a local Awami League leader in the attack, a BNP-backed contender has come out as the winner.
According to unofficial results, the closest fight was witnessed in Khagrachhari sadar upazila where UPDF candidate Chonchumoni Chakma upset BNP’s Kongchairi Mogh by only 162 votes.
BNP has been particularly successful in Dhaka, Manikganj and Gazipur, winning all the chairman posts in the upazila parishads that saw polls from these three districts.
The Awami League, on the other hand, clinched all the top posts in the upazila parishads in Sunamganj and Barisal.
The moderate average voter turnout of around 60% in yesterday’s elections was roughly a repetition of the 68.32% turnout the last time the upazilas went into polls five years ago.
Some stray incidents of violence marred the atmosphere of the otherwise peaceful elections despite the “four-tier” security arrangements put in place at all the polling centres, including the deployment of one platoon of the army at each of the upazilas.
The elections this year in the upazila parishads – the semi-urban local government bodies – rose to almost equal prominence as the parliamentary poll because both ruling Awami League and the BNP – although not allowed to formally participate organisationally – took the elections very seriously, as an opportunity to reestablish the party’s command on the grassroots.
In the weeks ahead of the polling, both BNP and the Awami League put in vigorous organisational efforts to make sure that the local candidates did not run against each other for the various posts in the upazila parishads.
However, that attempt remained largely futile with the grassroots of both the parties taking the opportunity to express their grievances at the deprivation that they suffered in the last few years from the top leaders of their respective parties.
As a result, the stage was set for a hard fought upazila parishad polls.
Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad said in his post-polling reaction that the elections were completely free and fair.
However, at least 17 candidates – most BNP-backed – in eight upazilas announced pulling out of the polls alleging irregularities. Interestingly, three of them, running for various posts in the same upazila in Meherpur district, have emerged victorious unofficially.
Reports of violence, clashes, snatching of ballot boxes, attacks on polling centres, bomb blasts and arrests have come from various upazilas in at least 10 districts including Bogra, Sirajganj, Gopalganj, Habiganj, Meherpur, Narsingdi, Chittagong, Jamalpur, Sylhet and Jessore.
Election Commission sources said voting had been suspended in at least 10 polling centres around the country because of various kinds of untoward incidents.