Ruling party lawmaker from Comilla Sadar constituency AKM Bahauddin Bahar remained in the city on Sunday, ignoring the Election Commission's (EC) orders to leave ahead of the city corporation elections on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the EC ordered Bahar to leave the constituency for violating the code of conduct in COCC polls, after allegations were leveled by two-time mayor Monirul Haque Sakku.
Contesting the polls as an independent candidate this year, suspended BNP leader Sakku wrote two more letters to the returning officer alleging code breaches by Bahar.
Sakku’s Personal Assistant Kabir Hossain said the letters were handed over to Returning Officer Shahedunnabi Chowdhury on Saturday.
In one letter, Sakku mentioned that Bahar has been violating election rules by instructing various educational institutions and mosques under the city corporation to campaign for his symbol.
“Due to his instructions, representatives of the institutions were carrying out election campaign for Awami League,” the letter reads.
The other letter says that Awami League-backed candidate Arfanul Haque Rifat and MP Bahar organized rallies for their symbols. “It is also rumored that they will try to influence the election environment by holding public rallies on the election day, violating the code of conduct.”
In this regard, Returning Officer Shahedunnabi Chowdhury said: "I have received two complaints from the independent mayoral candidate. We will see what can be done about the matter.”
On April 25, the EC announced the polls schedules for the COCC as well as six municipalities and 135 union parishads – to be held through electronic voting machines (EVMs).
An estimated 105 polling stations can be set up in the city which may comprise 640 polling booths.
The new EC, led by Kazi Habibul Awal, has already taken punitive measures against a number of candidates in Comilla and other areas to ensure free and fair elections.
Sakku declares manifesto
Mayor hopeful Sakku on Sunday said he wanted to complete the unfinished tasks he had started for the development of the city, if voted to power again.
He was elected mayor of the COCC in 2012 and 2017
Dhaka TribuneDuring a press conference at his house, Sakku said he had taken a lot of development projects to improve the city’s traffic situation by widening streets. He also took steps to prevent waterlogging by constructing drains, and ensure safe water and proper waste management.
On his last day in office on May 16, Sakku said that he had implemented 65% of his pledges about solving the problems of the city.
