The ruling Awami League has won landslide victories in the last three general elections, but their candidates have fared poorly in recent local government polls.
The ruling party's main competition in the local polls has come not from opposition parties, but from rebel and independent candidates.
In the sixth phase of the elections held on January 31, independent candidates secured victory in 95 out of 218 unions areas, while AL candidates won in 117.
In the fifth phase of elections held on January 5 this year, independent candidates secured victory in 346 areas while AL candidates won in 341 out of 692 unions, according to Election Commission statistics.
At least 21 Awami League chairman candidates in 11 districts lost their security deposits in the fifth phase, with eight of the candidates earning fewer than 500 votes.
Faridpur district is traditionally considered a stronghold of the ruling Awami League, but the results of the recently held Union Parishad election paints a different picture.
Six of the chairman candidates in Faridpur-4 constituency lost their security deposits as they failed to obtain 12.5% of votes cast. One chairman candidate nominated by the ruling party did not even contest the fifth phase of the polls.
The situation in Faridpur is not an isolated one. Niman Chand Mandal, AL president of Folsi union parishad in jhenaidah’s Harinakundu upazila and chairman candidate with the party ticket from the same area, secured only 42 votes against rebel candidate Bazlur Rahman, who secured 4,623 votes.
Recommendations From Grassroot Ignored
Awami League leaders in different districts said candidate recommendations from the grassroots were ignored, which is why many rebel candidates were favoured.
“In three upazilas of my constituency, no recommendation was taken from the union and upazila Awami League leaders. The district committee made the list with its own candidates and forwarded that list to the central nomination board. This is why most Awami League candidates lost in the electoral areas in this district,” said Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury, a lawmaker from Faridpur-4 constituency.
Chowdhury, popularly known as Nixon Chowdhury, is an independent MP and a presidium member of Awami Jubo League. He has political rivalry with Kazi Zafarullah, who is one of the influential nomination board members of the Awami League.
In the Haldiapalong Union Parishad of Ukhia upazila under Cox’s Bazar districts, the Awami League candidate lost against independent candidate Imrul Kayes Chowdhury.
When asked, newly elected chairman Imrul Kayes told this newspaper that he expected theAwami League nomination, but the board chose a running chairman who was detached from local Awami League leaders.
“This detachment is why grassroots activists worked for me,” he said.
Problems Unlikely To Affect National Election
Several party leaders told Dhaka Tribune there were several reasons behind the ruling party’s poor show in the UP polls, but they did not think it would impact the next general election.
They said the ruling party's nomination process, influence of local MPs and party leaders, and local conflicts are the main reasons behind the poor performance of candidates with Awami League tickets.
“Family status, conflicts between communities, sympathy, locality, and some other social factors work as a factor in the UP elections, apart from the party tickets. I think it is not wise to make a generalized comment regarding this result. We need to evaluate and analyze each and every case separately,” Awami League Organizing Secretary Abu Sayeed Al Mahmood Swapon told this newspaper on Wednesday.
“Those who defamed the party symbol and lost security deposits even after contesting with the Boat symbol need to be punished,” added Swapon, who is a whip in parliament.
AFM Bahauddin Nasim, joint general secretary of Awami league, said the polls results showed that something was definitely wrong.
Acknowledging that the selection of candidates had not been perfect, he said the party was collecting information from various areas to identify any gaps.
Some ruling party leaders involved with the nomination process claimed they had finalized nominations based on the candidates’ lists sent by grassroots party leaders.
AL presidium member Abdur Rahman, who is on the party's nomination board, said the party considered the results a win for democracy.
“Local government elections like the union parishad polls have a lot of factors, but it will not affect the national polls,” he said.
Office Secretary of Awami League Barrister Biplab Barua said the failure of the Boat symbol was not a victory for opposition parties.
“In most cases, our party candidates lost against rebel candidates of the Awami League. This result proves inclusive elections are happening across the country. About 70% of voters cast their votes, although there were some minor incidents and clashes,” said Barua, who is a special aide to Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He thinks AL candidates could have won more seats if the BNP had taken part in the election.
“Confiscation of security deposits of many candidates does not reflect that it was a failure of the Awami League. Many candidates who secured victory did not receive the party nomination, but they are still from the Awami League,” said Barua.
Violence Claims Over 100 Lives
As rebel candidates contested the elections against party candidates, many areas across Bangladesh witnessed violence and deaths. The law enforcement agencies had to open fire in many areas.
In the first four phases of the Union Parishad (UP) polls in 2021, Bangladesh witnessed at least 113 deaths and 7,201 injuries in 672 incidents of violence, as noted in an Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) report.
At least 10 other people were killed in polls related violence centering on the fifth phase of the union parishad polls held on January 5.
A recent report by the non-governmental organization Human Rights Culture Foundation (MSF) said that at least 29 people were killed in 109 incidents of violence in January 2022 amid the fifth and sixth phases of the union parishad elections.
The six-phase Union Parishad elections commenced in September 2021 and ended on January 31, 2022.
There are 138 Union Parishad elections for the seventh phase on February 7. Eight more UP polls will be held on February 10, before the end of the tenure of the current Election Commission.
