Senior leaders of the ruling party are taking part in different meetings and gatherings in the cities of Dhaka and Chittagong to introduce the city polls candidates backed by the ruling alliance, apparently violating the electoral code of conduct.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and also around half a dozen of the cabinet members, the alliance lawmakers, leaders and aspirants are frequently holding public meetings, election-related meetings and other meetings and seminars while introducing the mainly the mayoral candidates.
The leaders are, however, arguing that they were only introducing the candidates, while BNP leaders are bringing allegations that the election code of conduct is being violated by the ruling alliance.
According to the codes, important persons cannot introduce any candidate to others in the meeting ahead of polls. Moreover, any candidates will not start campaign for none of DSCC, DNCC and CCC before March 7.
Under article 14 (A) of the code, the important persons include the prime minister, speaker, ministers, chief whip, deputy speaker, opposition party leader, parliament’s deputy leader, opposition party deputy leader, state ministers, whip, MPs and city corporation mayors.
“If the candidates do so, it will be treated as the violation of the electoral code of conduct,” Deputy Secretary of the Election Commission Mihir Sarwar Morshed told the media on Tuesday.
“I have asked the important persons not to invite the candidates to join any of the programmes as the candidates are prohibited from joining the programmes of important persons.”
Different party-backed aspirants have alleged that the PM has violated the electoral code of conduct by using her official residence to hold meetings and introduce party-backed mayor candidates.
In the last few days, leaders of the ruling Awami League-led 14-party alliance have held separate indoor and outdoor meetings, and public gatherings, which were being dubbed as election campaign.
On Tuesday, the alliance in Dhaka and Chittagong held meetings between the 14-party central leaders for sharing views and discussing election strategies and selection of single mayoral candidate for each of Dhaka North City Corporation, Dhaka South City Corporation and Chittagong City Corporation.
The meeting was held at Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s political office at Dhanmondi in the capital while Health Minister Mohammad Nasim, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister and President of the Workers Party of Bangladesh Rashed Khan Menon and several lawmakers of the ruling alliance were present.
BNP-backed CCC mayoral aspirant Manjur Alam alleged that the cabinet members, ruling alliance lawmakers, leaders and alliance-backed candidate Nasir had violated the code of conduct. Nasir, however, denied the allegation.
Abdullah Al Kafi Ratan, who is in the race backed by the Communist Party of Bangladesh, alleged that during a meeting with party functionaries at Gonobhaban on Friday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina introduced Annisul Huq and Sayeed Khokon as the mayor aspirants of the two city corporations in Dhaka.
When contacted yesterday, Food Minister and Awami League Dhaka City Unit Joint General Secretary advocate Quamrul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune: “Where is the violation of electoral code of conduct? Is there any code of conduct that party meetings cannot be held? We held the party’s and alliance’s internal meeting … It is not for the city polls’ purpose.”
About Health Minister Mohammad Nasim’s press conference over the city polls, the former state minister for law said the 14-party meeting was held to decide “the alliance’s next political strategy to protest BNP-Jamaat alliance’s nationwide violence in the name of movement.”
