EC aims for success stories in Khulna, Barishal amid BNP polls boycott

Infographic: TBS

As the Barishal and Khulna city corporations today go to elections, not fully inclusive because of the BNP's boycott, the Election Commission aims to claim another success after the Gazipur polls.

Election Commissioner Ahsan Habib Khan last week even said polls in the two cities would be even better than the Gazipur election held on 25 May.

And yesterday, he said all kinds of measures have been taken to make Khulna and Barishal polls free, fair and impartial. He also mentioned that the EC had taken a strict stance in enforcing the electoral laws since the announcement of the schedules.

Before the Gazipur polls, the commission had pledged to conduct a model election. With a thick security blanket in place, the EC managed a peaceful election, a kind that had not been seen in recent years.

In Khulna and Barishal, the ruling party will not be facing its arch rival BNP for the first time in the history of the two city corporation elections, making it appear less competitive though an air of suspense remains.    

BNP's message was loud and clear when it expelled 19 leaders in Barishal and 9 leaders in Khulna from the party for life for contesting in the city polls or supporting the contestants.

Besides, the 11 leaders in Khulna have been sent show-cause letters. They might be expelled if they failed to send replies or if the central BNP is not satisfied with the reply.

In Barishal, the main competition will be between AL's Abul Khayer Khokon Serniabat and Islami Andolon Bangladesh's Syed Faizul Karim.

Khokon Serniabat, brother of veteran Awami League politician Abul Hasanat Abdullah, is a first-timer in the mayoral race.

His nephew Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah, the outgoing mayor and the secretary of the city unit AL, was willing to run for a second term, and the party's decision to nominate his uncle naturally upset him.

"The followers of Sadique Abdullah will try their best to make the Awami League candidate lose the polls if their feuds are not resolved before the voting," a leader of the city unit Awami League, seeking anonymity, told The Business Standard.

Sadiq was not active in any electioneering for Khokon though the nephew-uncle duo were seen to make up at least in public.

Faizul Karim, an underdog in the AL stronghold, may have more to do with the local AL's internal conflict than his manifesto promising the people safe food and drinking water and poverty alleviation.

Meanwhile, BNP representatives have been going door to door, urging citizens not to cast their votes as the party maintains its stance of rejecting any polls under the current government.

Moniruzzaman Khan Faruk, the convener of BNP's Barishal city unit, stated, "It is our party's central decision that none of our leaders, activists, and supporters will participate in any kind of election under the current government. If anyone supports the BNP, they should not go to the voting centre."

The BNP boycotted the Gazipur polls as well, yet AL's Boat was sunken as a seasoned AL politician like Azmat Ullah lost to independent Zaida Khatun, mother of former mayor Zahangir Alom.

The turnout in Gazipur was about 48%, lower than in the past two elections. Whether the BNP's tactic will result in low voter presence in the two city corporation elections remains to be seen.

The Khulna city polls have always been a closely-fought affair between the BNP and the AL. Thrice the BNP has come out on top of AL's twice.

With the BNP's absence, the big question is who will turn its vote bank into its own, successfully turning the crisis into an opportunity.

AL candidate Talukdar Abdul Khaleque, a two-time former mayor, said, "I don't see any deficiency in the preparation of law and order forces to make the election fair. So there is no doubt that it will be an impartial election."

Candidates of parties other than the AL have raised questions about how free and fair the elections will be though the run-up to the elections has been peaceful.

Jatiya Party's mayoral pick Shafiqul Islam Madhu said, "There will be no fair elections under this government. There is no democracy and right to vote in this country."

He also claimed there was no level-playing field in Khulna and voters were being intimidated to not go to the polling booths.

Md Abdul Awal, mayoral candidate of Islami Andolon expressed the same fear, citing alleged irregularities in the 2018 KCC election.

However, the Election Commission promises a peaceful environment for polling, saying legal action will be taken against anyone involved in election irregularities.

"On the day of polling, we will monitor the election directly through CCTV cameras. To ensure a peaceful environment for exercising voting rights, the administration, police, law enforcement agencies and polling officers have guaranteed 100% compliance to our directions," said Election Commissioner Ahsan Habib.

These pledges and measures gained more significance after the United States announced a new policy that said it will deny visas to individuals responsible for undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh.  

Our Khulna correspondent, Awal Sheikh, contributed to this report.