The ruling Awami League still hopes that all the 71 mayoral candidates, who had submitted nomination papers as independent candidates for mayoral posts of the municipality elections, would withdraw their nomination papers voluntarily.
“Already four to five persons have withdrawn their nomination papers. We hope that the others will backtrack from the mayoral race by December 13, the last day of withdrawing nomination papers,” Joint General Secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif said at a party press conference yesterday.
Earlier, the party threatened to expel leaders from the party if they contested the elections defying the party’s nominations.
Hanif faced the reporters after holding a meeting at the Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s political office at Dhanmondi. Several central leaders of the party were also present at the meeting.
The Election Commission started scrutiny of the nomination papers yesterday.
Terming the BNP’s objection against the EC “illogical and unacceptable,” the Awami League leader said: “BNP joined the five city corporation polls under the current Election Commission. Now the party says the EC is not fair … What does the BNP want?
The BNP recently criticised the EC as “spineless” and “subservient to the government” for not deferring the polls schedule as per their request.