With both Awami League and BNP struggling to figure out the “rebel candidates” issue, a total of 97 upazila parishads around the country are going into polls today in the first phase.
While BNP has expressed serious doubts about the free and fairness of the local body polls and concerns about the alleged harassment and arrest of its grassroots leaders and activists, the ruling Awami League has expressed hopes that the polls outcomes will come in its favour.
The administration, meanwhile, has put in place a four-tier security arrangement for maintaining law and order centring the polls, with special attention to be given to the voters from the various religious minority communities, apparently learning from last months’ parliamentary election.
Each of the upazilas going to polls in the first phase will be watched over by one platoon (42 soldiers) of the army as a striking force in addition to the other law enforcement agencies including BGB, RAB, Police and Ansar.
A total of 6,589 local observers and 71 from abroad will witness the upazila parishad polls.
The Election Commission said all preparations for holding the polls in free and fair manner had been made. All equipment have reached the upazilas concerned. The voting would start at 8am and continue till 4pm without any break.
Both Awami League and BNP have tried hard to ensure single candidate in every upazila an endeavour that they both had failed.
The local leaders from both the tents have taken the elections as a way of ventilating their grievances associated with being “ignored” by the central leaders year after year.
Although no political party can directly participate in these local body polls by officially nominating candidates, they can extend their backing to certain candidates they favour.
Of those contesting for the chairman posts, 133 including “rebel” candidates are from the BNP tent, 165 including rebels from the Awami League, 29 from Jamaat-e-Islami, 21 from Jatiya Party and eight from the Islamist parties.
During this year’s elections in these local bodies, regional issues, especially development and agriculture, have taken a back seat as both the parties have taken these elections as an opportunity to strengthen their grassroots and reemerge as organisationally strong.
Expressing its doubts and concerns over the free and fairness of the polls and alleging that the prevailing atmosphere was not congenial, the BNP has already written to the Election commission. The party also accused the law enforcers and administration of harassing and killing its local leaders and activists.
However, Election Commissioner Md Shah Newaz said: “Reports from the intelligence agencies suggest that the situations in the election areas are normal. The commission has asked the law enforcement agencies to take special security in the areas dominated by the [religious] minorities.”
An EC official said the intelligence agencies have submitted reports containing the names of the potentially vulnerable polling centres, and names and addresses of people who might create unrest during the polls.
Farhad Hossain, senior assistant secretary of the EC Secretariat, said the agencies also identified a total of 590 election officials with political affiliations in 32 upazila parishads.
However, some returning officers alleged that many of them were still to be replaced.
Farhad said the commission had asked the returning officers concerned to discharge these problematic officials.
The EC has already appointed 388 executive and 97 judicial magistrates for taking immediate steps in case there is any case of worsening law and order.
On Monday, the commission formed a central monitoring cell consisting of EC officials and law enforcers that would remain on the field till tomorrow, said an EC official.
A total of 1,259 candidates are running for the posts of chairman, vice-chairman and reserved women vice-chairman in the first phase. Of them, 429 are contesting for chairman, 505 for vice-chairman and 325 for the reserved women vice-chairman.
More than one and a half crore voters will be practicing their voting rights in this year’s upazila parishad polls.
The EC has setup a total of 6,889 polling centres and 42,756 polling booths in the 97 upazilas around the country.