The last day of submitting nomination papers saw 60 mayoral aspirants, including 47 in Dhaka and 13 in Chittagong file their nomination papers for the April 28 city polls.
As is usual at local government elections in Bangladesh, “rebel” candidates are likely to play a key role in these city polls as well.
Both Awami League and BNP have already decided upon the candidates they will support, but many other leaders – the so called rebels – from these parties filed their papers. Most of them are hopeful of getting their parties’ blessings eventually.
Interestingly, Old Dhaka-based influential Awami League leader Haji Mohammad Selim did not file his papers, even though he has been running a major publicity campaign over the last month or so.
Another Dhaka-based ruling party leader Eklash Uddin Molla, who had collected papers for mayor of Dhaka north, did not submit the papers in the end.
Apparently, they have made way for the aspirants who got party nods – former Dhaka mayor late Mohammad Hanif’s son Sayeed Khokon in the south and business tycoon Annisul Huq in the north.
However, filmstar and former Awami League MP Sarah Begum Kabari is still in the race for mayor in the north. She is now the only female mayor aspirant in Dhaka as Helena Jahangir did not file her papers yesterday.
She later told reporters: “I submitted the papers as I have Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s blessings. I have been involved with the country’s cultural arena for long. If I am elected, women will be empowered...If the prime minister asks me to pull out, then I will think about it.”
On the other hand, all BNP-backed aspirants filed nomination papers – business tycoon and BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s adviser Abdul Awal Mintoo in Dhaka north, former Dhaka mayor Mirza Abbas for Dhaka south and incumbent mayor M Manjur Alam in Chittagong.
Abdus Salam, finance secretary of BNP’s central committee, also filed forms yesterday to contest the mayoral race for Dhaka south. His wife Syeda Fatema Salam submitted the papers because her husband in on the run –like many other BNP leaders – to avoid arrest in the ongoing security crackdown.
“The party [BNP] has not yet made the final decision about my husband. But there is silent support from Khaleda Zia,” Fatema told reporters. Convenor of a civic platform, Mahmudur Rahman Manna, also a former organising secretary of the ruling party, however did not file nomination papers for the mayoral race of Dhaka north yesterday. He is currently in police custody.
Although BNP’s top ally Jamaat-e-Islami as not floated any mayoral candidates, Awami League’s alliance partners Jatiya Party (JaPa) – also main opposition in parliament – and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) are backing aspirants.
JaPa is backing Bobby Hajjaj in the north and Haji Saifuddin Ahmed Milon in the south of Dhaka. JSD is backing actor Nader Chowdhury in the north.
For the polls in Dhaka north, a total of 21 mayoral, 494 general ward councillor and 135 reserved female councillor aspirants submitted papers yesterday. For the south, a total of 26 mayoral aspirants submitted forms on the last day.
In Dhaka north, other mayor aspirants include Bikalpadhaka Bangladesh’s Mahi B Chowdhury and leftist Gonoshonghoti Andolan’s Zonayed Saki.
In the south, BNP leaders Asaduzzaman Ripon and Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu also filed their papers yesterday. Pintu is convict with life in prison in the BDR carnage case.
When asked whether he had got his party’s blessings, Ripon, also international affairs secretary of BNP, said: “I will extend my support to the party-backed candidate.”
He also said: “We won in the last five city polls. If free and fair polls are held, we will win in Dhaka and Chittagong as well... It would not be appropriate to mix hartal and election. Hartal is for restoring democracy. It will continue.”
Breach of code
Dhaka Tribune correspondents yesterday visited the two election offices in Dhaka and found that most aspirants, especially the mayoral aspirants, violated the electoral code of conduct which bars them from bringing more than five persons when filing nomination papers. Some aspirants brought as many as 30 people with them.
Mihir Sarwar Morshed, returning officer of Dhaka city polls, said: “We will monitor electronic and print media reports and then take action. We have already served show cause notices to 92 aspirants on the basis of media reports.”
However, no such notice has yet been served to any of the mayor aspirants.
Annisul Huq was accompanied by lawmaker Col (retd) Faruk Khan, former food minister Abdur Razzak, Jahangir Kabir Nanok, BGMEA President M Atiqul Islam and former BGMEA president AK Azad.
“I am so happy because I got the chance to contest. The electoral environment is much better now and I hope it will improve further,” said Annisul after submitting his papers around 3:30pm.
South’s mayor aspirant Sayeed Khokon submitted his papers around 12:30pm. He was accompanied by Awami League lawmakers Fazle Nur Taposh and Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin and MA Aziz.
Asked whether he had broken the code of conduct, Khokon told reporters: “Only five people accompanied me to the returning officer’s office. Others were councillor aspirants.”
Mintoo family drama
Hours after BNP’s contender in the north Adbul Awal Mintoo’s papers were filed by his son Tafsir M Awal, his other son Tabith placed his own nomination papers, which were collected on the same day.
Tabith’s papers were filed by his relative Shahidul Alam.
Asked if there was any conflict between the father and the son, Shahidul told reporters: “They might be looking to run for the same post but there is no conflict. Tabith is young and has studied abroad. He thinks that the young voters will give him their support.”
In Chittagong
In Chittagong, 13 out of the 18 mayor aspirants who collected nomination papers, filed their forms yesterday. BNP-backed Manjur submitted his nomination papers around 9:30am.
BNP Vice-Chairman Abdullah Al Noman and Chittagong city unit BNP’s President Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury accompanied Manjur along with some other local leaders of the 20-party alliance.
On the other hand, Awami League-backed AJM Nasir Uddin was accompanied by the party’s port city unit chief AKM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, a former three-time mayor, and other senior leaders. Jatiya Party is backing its presidium member Solaiman Alam Seth Chittagong mayor.
A total of 71 aspirants for the reserved female ward councillor posts and 288 aspirant ward councillors submitted forms yesterday in Chittagong.
Those who missed
Around 24 ward councillor and reserved female councillor aspirants yesterday failed to submit their forms within the stipulated deadline of 5pm. Of them, 10 were female councillor aspirants. Around two minutes past five in the afternoon yesterday, some 20-25 aspirants gathered in front of Mihir Sarwar Morshed, returning officer of Dhaka south, when he was briefing journalists.
They kept requesting him to accept their papers, blaming their delay on heavy traffic.
Mihir told journalists that he had accepted an application from these aspirants and would make a decision later.
