Dhaka, July 31 – BNP mayoral candidate in Sylhet Ariful Haque Chowdhury, who is leading over his opponent from ruling Awami League, has said that he would have been elected mayor of the city known for its Sufi shrines with a margin of over 100,000 votes. Talking to journalists, he expressed his gratitude to all the city people irrespective of religions for casting cast their votes for him defying obstacles and intimidation.
Replying to a question, he said he thinks he has been elected with people’s votes.
He mentioned that he cautioned earlier that no anomalies and irregularities would be accepted in the sacred land that is known for its Sufi shrines including Hazrat Shahjalal (Rh) and Hazrat Shah Paran (Rh).
Chowdhury, who is also waiting for the announcement of poll result said he has disgracefully rejected the dreadful acts of the ruling party men and the process to capture most of the polling centres and rigging votes during the polls.
The Election Commission (EC) postponed the announcement of the poll results in Sylhet Monday midnight as the number of votes in two centres where voting was suspended was higher than the difference between the two leading candidates’ tallies.
The BNP mayoral candidate Ariful Haque Chowdhury is leading in Sylhet with 90,496 votes while AL’s Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran has received 86,870 votes in 132 centres out of total 134. The BNP candidate is leading by 3,626 votes, while the total number of voters in the two withheld centres is 4,787. Under such circumstances, returning officer Mohammad Alimuzzaman postponed the announcement of the results around 11:45 pm.
Asked whether participation of Jamaat people in the mayoral post would affect the unity of the BNP-led 20-party alliance, he declined to make any comments over the issue.
“Since it was a local government poll, I don’t want to make any comments over it. Central leaders can speak in this regards,” he added. – Staff Reporter
