Eighteen-party-supported candidate MA Mannan won a convincing victory in the battle of ballots in the maiden Gazipur City Corporation on Satrurday.Results announced by the returning officer early Sunday showed Mannan bagged 365,000 votes while Awami League-led 14-party-supported candidate Ajmat got 258, 000 votes. The margin kept steadily increasing in favour of Abdul Mannan since vote counting started late in the afternoon. Analysts from both sides have termed the results as a message from the electorate of the people’s unhappiness with the policies pursued by the government at the national level. While AL presidium member Tofail Ahmed has said that his party should take lessons by identifying the mistakes committed in the Gazipur election, BNP’s standing committee member Barrister Rafiqul Islam Miah has said that this unquestionably pointed people’s support to the opposition demand for elections under caretaker government. Non-partisan analysts have pointed to the different high profile corruption cases that surfaced during the last few years and maltreatment of the opposition, disappearances, killings, tender hijacking and discontentment in public life as the reason behind the defeat of the AL-backed candidate. They felt that a proper response to the development would be fruitful political dialogue to end impasse over the national election that is due shortly.
Earlier, the voting in the maiden election to the city corporation ended at 4 pm as it began at 8 am.
Sources at the Returning Officer office said voters in some 37 polling centers cast their votes even after 4 pm as the queues there were too long.
Returning Officer Matiar Rahman told journalists that 60 to 65 percent votes were cast in the election.
At a press conference at the EC secretariat in the capital, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakib Uddin Ahmed urged all the candidates to accept the people’s verdict.
“The people of Gazipur have exercised their constitutional rights. I’m requesting candidates and their supporters to accept the people’s verdict and maintain a healthy atmosphere of traditional political practice.
– UNB
