CEC, EC officials in Gazipur to ensure fairness in city polls

To ensure the June 26 Gazipur City Corporation elections take place in a fair, peaceful, and lawful manner, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda and his election commission associates went to Gazipur to attend a special law and order meeting held in collaboration with the Election Coordination Committee.

The CEC said: “We have discussed the role of law enforcement agencies during the elections. We hope that the elections will be acceptable and fair and the voters will choose their desired candidate.”

“In the meeting, everyone shared and took charge of the responsibilities given to them. No risk is involved here; they highlighted their hopes for the elections,” he said.

The meeting commenced 11:30am on Wednesday at the district administration conference room. 

Dhaka Divisional Commissioner, KM Ali Azam, presided over the event with the CEC as chief guest.

Election commissioners Mahbub Talukder, Md Rafiqul Islam, Begum Kabita Khanam, Brigadier General (Retd) Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury, and secretary Helaluddin Ahmed, were present at the meeting as special guests.

Gazipur city polls Returning Officer Md Rakib Uddin Mondal, Gazipur Deputy Commissioner Dr Md Humayun Kabir, and Police Superintendent Md Harun Ur Rashid, were also present at the meeting.

After the meeting, Deputy Commissioner Dr Md Humayun Kabir said a press conference would soon be held to brief the media about the meeting.

Meanwhile, Awami League-nominated mayoral candidate, advocate Jahangir Alam, and BNP-nominated, Hasan Uddin Sarkar, have already started campaigning.

Jahangir Alam began his election campaign from Tongi’s Ward 50, and continued throughout the area until afternoon.

BNP candidate Hasan Uddin Sarkar also started his campaign in the morning in the Pubail area of Gazipur. 

General and restricted ward councillors have also begun their own election campaigns.

The other mayoral candidates taking part in the elections are Fazlur Rahman of Islami Oikya Jote(minaret), Nasir Uddin of Islami Andolan Bangladesh (hand fan), Jalal Uddin  of Bangladesh Islami Front (candle), Kazi Ruhul Amin of Bangladesh Communist Party (sickle), and independent candidate Farid Ahmed (table clock). 

Once done with their campaigning, mayoral and councillor candidates attended a dialogue with the Election Commission (EC) at 3pm in Gazipur’s Banga Taj auditorium, where they exchanged views and opinions.

The Gazipur City Corporation election is featuring seven mayoral candidates, 254 councillor candidates for 57 general wards, and 84 candidates for 19 reserved wards. It is anticipated that over 1.1voters will vote at 425 polling centres.

CEC expresses satisfaction with law and order in Gazipur

CEC KM Nurul has expressed his satisfaction over the law and order scenario of Gazipur, ahead of City Corporation elections.

The CEC also warned if the election is not fair, then the person responsible will be brought to justice.

When asked about administrative staff working in favour of some candidates in previous elections, the CEC said: “I refuse to agree; the administration has never done such a thing and will not support such activities.”

CEC also said: “There were a few incidents at 4-5 polling centres in Khulna. But our administration has given us their word to try their utmost to hold a free and fair election.”  

“Gazipur district and police administration have given us their word there will be no incidents of ballot stuffing at polling stations during the city polls,” added the CEC.

KM Nurul Huda said: “So far, there were no such incidents in Gazipur which could disrupt or question the election. We hope that the administration can maintain this till the end of the election.”

About BNP’s allegation of breaking the code of conduct, the CEC wanted to know where and how the code of conduct was broken, only then could he take action about the complaint.

The CEC further mentioned that the army will not be deployed in the elections. There will be Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) at six polling centres.