The BNP yesterday said it would not back away from the upcoming Dhaka and Chittagong city corporation polls even in the face of adverse circumstances.
“We are in the polls amid immense adversity and will remain in the races even if further adverse circumstances are created,” Moudud Ahmed, a BNP Standing Committee member, said.
“We are participating in the city polls as part of our movement,” he told journalists at the Dhaka North election coordination committee meeting held at party Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office.
Moudud alleged that opposition-backed candidates were not getting fair space to campaign.
“In today’s newspapers, it was reported that cases were withdrawn against 16 Awami League candidates.
“Creating a level playing field for all remains an illusion. A ward councillor candidate was arrested last night.
“Law enforcement personnel are harassing and threatening our candidates everywhere. But despite this, we will not back down from the polls,” Moudud said.
The BNP leader expressed hope that the voting public would register its grievances against the government through the ballot box on April 28.
Moudud said the city polls serve as an acid test for the government and the Election Commission. “This election will prove how strong the Election Commission is.”
He said some candidates for ward councillor were falsely claiming to have the party’s backing. “We want to say clearly that only the candidates whose names were published in the media as having the BNP’s blessings are our candidates.”
Alleging that BNP-backed candidates were being barred from campaigning, Moudud said: “We have submitted written complaints to the EC. Do the commissioners not read the newspapers? The Election Commission has been behaving in a discriminatory manner with us.”
The BNP leader alleged that ruling party backed candidates were daily violating the electoral code of conduct. “I have heard that one mayoral candidate made a donation to a mosque, which is a violation of the electoral code of conduct.”
At another event, BNP standing committee member ASM Hannan Shah said: “Yesterday a ward councillor candidate was arrested. In different places, our candidates’ posters have been torn down. “The EC has witnessed all of this and we have sought their intervention, but we are yet to receive redress.”
At a publicity meeting for Dhaka South BNP-backed candidates at the party’s Nayapaltan headquarters, Hannan alleged that although magistrates had been deployed to enforce the electoral code of conduct, they were nowhere to be seen.
The BNP leader demanded the deployment of the army during the city polls, saying: “The Election Commission has been barred from conducting fair polls. If the army is not deployed a week before election day, it will be assumed that the government does not want fair elections.”
Hannan Shah is convener of the election campaign coordination committee. Standing Committee Members Tariqul Islam, Jamiruddin Sircar and Rafiqul Islam Miah, Vice-Chairmen Shah Moazzem and Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, Advisers to the BNP chairperson Fazlur Rahman, Shamsuzzaman Dudu, Abdul Mannan and others are committee members. Goyeshwar Chandra Roy was named member secretary of the committee.
Because Roy is in jail, Jubo Dal President Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal will carry out the member secretary’s duties.
Hannan said Dhaka South City Corporation had been divided into eight sectors to enable smooth campaigning.
Urging the Election Commission to ensure fair polls, the BNP leader said: “We do not believe in muscle power. We believe in ballots. That is why we are participating in the elections.
“We hope the Election Commission ensures a level playing field for all candidates.”
When asked whether BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will campaign for her party’s favoured candidates, Hannan said: “Khaleda Zia will do so if she feels it is required. There is no bar against her campaigning.”
