Thursday, November 3, 2011

Ivy defeated Shamim

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Awami League leader Selina Hayat Ivy was declared unofficially the first mayor-elect of the newly formed Narayanganj City Corporation in Sunday’s polls that witnessed a huge voter turnout amid fears after the Election Commission had not deployed the army for the polls.


Ivy defeated her rival, Shamim Osman, the candidate backed by the Awami League, by a big margin of 1,01,343 votes and became the country’s first female mayor of a city.


Like her father Ali Ahmed Chunka, who became the chairman of the Narayanganj Municipal Corporation in the elections in 1974 after being denied the Awami League support, Ivy in a repeat performance polled 1,80,048 votes while her nearest rival Shamim bagged 78,705 votes.


The returning officer, Biswas Lutfor Rahman, unofficially declared Selina Hayat Ivy, a former mayor of the Narayanganj municipality, mayor-elect at 12:55am Monday.


The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party-backed candidate Taimur Alam Khandaker, who withdrew himself from the race early Sunday, got 7,616 votes although the BNP announced polls boycott after the army had not been deployed.


Ivy termed it a people’s victory saying that it was a victory against injustice, extortion and land grab.


Shamim Osman alleged that the Election Commission and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its ally Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami had together conspired against him for his defeat.


The chief election commissioner, ATM Shamsul Huda, said that the people of Narayanganj had shown that fair and peaceful elections could be held if they wanted.


A total of 2,82,593 voters exercised their franchise, accounting for 69.92 per cent of the total 4,04,189 voters.


The polling was by and large peaceful. No untoward incidents, however, were reported during polling hours between 8:00am and 4:00pm.


The presence of female voters was higher than male. Female voters stood in long queues in most of the centres, witnesses said.


People were enthusiastic about the use of electronic voting machines but a good number of elderly and uneducated people had faced difficulties in casting their vote by using the device.


Five candidates ran in the race for mayoral position while the BNP-backed candidate Taimur withdrew himself from the race early Sunday.


Islami Andolan leader Atikur Rahman Nannu Munsi with the symbol of bullock cart got 6,612 votes, independent candidates Sharif Mohammad with the symbol of duck bagged 1,493 and Atikul Islam Jibon with the symbol of padlock secured 1,855 votes. Shamim contested the polls with the symbol of wall clock and Ivy with the symbol of pen and ink-pot.


Two hundred and fifty-two candidates ran in the elections to 27 positions of councillor for 27 wards and 56 women for nine positions of councils in reserved seats.


Reports from the polling areas said that elections were almost peaceful other than a few stray incidents of false casting, complications in voting with EVMs and the absence of agents of Selina Hayat Ivy in a number of centres.


Although the presence of Shamim’s men were wearing the badge of wall clock, Shamim’s election symbol were visible in almost all the polling stations. Ivy’s men were hardly seen in and around most polling centres.


People from all walks of life irrespective of age and gender flocked to the centres to cast their vote in the first-ever city polls in Narayanganj.


A few cases of false casting were also reported in some of the centres but the number was insignificant.


Saleha Begum, who came to cast her vote at the Pashchim Jalkuri School centre, was told by the polling officer that her vote had already been cast.


‘I cannot understand how my vote had been cast,’ said a frustrated Saleha showing her voter’s identity card to New Age.


Kamal Chandra Das, a voter of Ward 15 whose voter’s identity card number is 6725806391607, came to the Gana Bidya Niketan polling centre about 10:00am only to find that his vote had already been cast.


Mohammad Shaheen Hossain Kalu of Tamakpatti, a voter at the Sitalakhya Government Primary School centre on Sultan Giasuddin Road, returned frustrated as he did not find his name in the electoral roll although he has a voter’s identity card.


A similar incident was also reported from the Narayanganj Club polling centre and the officials concerned failed to provide a convincing answer.


A few candidates brushed aside allegations levelled against them by rivals about intimidating voters.


Although the agents of Shamim were present in all the polling booths, only two agents of Ivy were present in two out of the 10 booths in the Narayanganj Club centre.


Some voters cast their vote for Taimur as they were not informed of Taimur’s withdrawal from the race early Sunday.


‘I have cast my vote for Taimur. I did not know of the withdrawal announcement,’ said Azizul Gaffar, an elderly person after casting his vote at a centre in Ward 9 at Shiddhirganj.


Some voters and even the presiding officers admitted that a number of problems had surfaced in casting vote with EVMs as the voters were not familiar with the new system.


‘Some people are scared about pressing the EVM switch and in some cases it created created complications although the process is very easy,’ presiding officer at the Adamjee Nagar Primary School centre Mazharul Islam told New Age.


Agents of Ivy were not available in a number of booths at the Adanjee Nagar School centres, Dhankunda Popular High School Centres and Safura Khatun School Centres. Agents of Shamim were also absent in a few polling booths in the area.


There were only two polling agents of Ivy at the Tolaram College centre at 11:00am and two others at the Adarsha School polling centre at the time.


There were 11 booths at the Adarsha School centre and nine booths at the Tolaram College centre.


But the presiding officers SM Amirul Haque at Tolaram College and Monir Hossain at Adarsha School said that each of them had received only two agents of Ivy.


‘Most of the people are not interested to work as polling agents of Ivy as she is contesting against Shamim,’ an agent of Ivy said at the Adamjee School centre.


Shamim alleged massing irregularities in the elections and said that the entire police personnel in Narayanganj were bribed by the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami so that they worked in favour of Ivy. He alleged that the police had directly influenced voters to cast their vote for Ivy.


About 2:00pm, panic gripped the Narayanganj Club polling station and its adjacent areas when Shamim captured a student of Tolaram College, Rony, also a Chhatra League activist, ‘distributing money’ in favour of Ivy in front of the polling station.


Rony was, however, rescued by a team of the Rapid Action Battalion and Shamim immediately levelled an allegation of massive rigging in the elections.


Shamim cast his vote at the Narayanganj Bar Academy centre in Ward 12 and Ivy cast her vote at the Shishubagh Bidyaloy centre after saying prayers at her father’s graveside in the morning.


Immediately after casting his vote in the first hour, Shamim, also a former Awami League lawmaker, said that the elections were going on peacefully. ‘I must accept the result, no matter what,’ he said.


After casting her vote as the polling began, Ivy alleged that her polling agents had been driven out from different polling centres, including Tolaram College centre. She, however, said that he had confidence in the Election Commission.


Voters started queuing at the Sitalakhya Government Primary School on Sultan Giasuddin Road, Number 10 centre in Ward 18 where electronic voting machines were used, to cast their vote.


About 200 people had been waiting in two parallel queues from 7:00am an hour before the gates of the centre opened.


Sixty-year-old Shamsul Huq, a day-labour who was leading the queue, said that he had wanted to go to work after casting his vote.


The government’s non-compliance with the Election Commission’s requisition for the army deployment to keep law and order during polling caused worries among the city dwellers. Shamim’s repeated claims that there would be militant attacks on the city before the polls multiplied the worries.


Apart from some 1,000 personnel of regular forces of Narayanganj, 7,000 more personnel of different law enforcement agencies, including Rapid Action Battalion, the police and Ansars were deployed.


Some 4,000 policemen, 2,500 Ansar-VDP personnel, 100 coast guards, a dog squad and a bomb disposal squad were on duty to keep law and order.


Source: newagebd.com/newspaper1


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