Awami League won 2,625 chairman posts while its archrival BNP won 373 and independent candidates captured 883 in the sixth-phase Union Parishad (UP) election completed Saturday beginning in March last.Among the winners, 207 chairman candidates –-204 AL and 3 independent contestants– were elected uncontested finding no rival against their respective posts in the 9th countrywide UP election.
Some 15-16 political parties out of 40 registered with the EC participated in the elections to UP chairman posts.
All the parties other than AL performed poorly in the elections as AL’s 2,625 chairman posts is more than seven times higher than BNP’s haul of 373.
Even independent candidates won more than double the chairman posts grabbed by BNP candidates in the election. Among the 883 independent winners, most are known as ruling AL’s rebels who contested the election failing to get the party’s ticket.
Besides, the main opposition Jatiya Party, led by HM Ershad bagged only 57 chairman posts, while Jasod, led by Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu, got eight posts, and Jatiya Party, led by Environment and Forest Minister Anwar Hossain Manju secured five posts.
Among other small political parties, Workers Party, led by Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan, and Islami Andolan each won 3 chairman posts, while Jaker Party and Jamiyate Ulamaye Islam won one chairman post each.
Though election was held in 4,104 out of the country’s 4,555 UPs in six phases, the results of some 3960 UPs were available in the Election Commission Secretariat on Sunday.
The results are still incomplete as the EC Secretariat is yet to complete the compilation works.
Election to more than 100 UPs still remain pending due to cancellation of the balloting of some polling stations on grounds of election irregularities and violence.
The 2016 UP election, which was held along party lines for the time in the country’s history,- only partially, for the chairman posts – was largely marred by irregularities and violence that killed more than 115 people and injured thousands of others.
In the sixth and final phase of polling held on Saturday, AL won 384 chairman posts while BNP only 62.
With 22 AL chairman candidates elected uncontested, the total number of the party’s winning contestants in the sixth phase now stands at 406. Besides, two independent candidates won the chairman post unopposed.
Though election was held in 699 UPs in this phase, the unofficial results of 674 UPs were available in the EC Secretariat till Sunday afternoon.
Besides, 185 independent candidates won chairman posts while HM Ershad-led Jatiya Party bagged 16 chairman posts in the sixth phase, according to EC’s statistics.
