59 Ctg councillor candidates 'literate, self-educated'

Fifty-nine councillor aspirants for Chittagong city have declared themselves "literate and self-educated" in the affidavits submitted to the Election Commission.

Around 29 candidates studied up to class IV and X, 44 wrote "SSC" in the space of their educational qualification, and 40 wrote "HSC", meaning they passed the examinations.

A total of 266 aspirants applied to contest in the April 28 election, but four backed out from the race till 7:00pm last night. Tomorrow is the last day for withdrawal of candidacy.

Of the general candidates, 52 are graduates including two with the MBBS degree and 14 postgraduates. One studied diploma engineering.

The analysis of the affidavits also shows that most candidates own businesses, few do jobs including teaching, and few are doctors and lawyers. 

MAYOR CONTENDERS

Among the 12 mayoral candidates, Awami League-blessed AZM Nasir Uddin is a graduate (BA), while BNP-backed contestant M Manjur Alam passed SSC examinations and Jatiya Party affiliated hopeful Md Solaiman Alam Seth studied up to class XII.

Another candidate, Hossain Muhammad Mujibul Huq, called himself "literate".

Of the rest, Md Abul Kalam Azad passed SSC exams, while

Md Alauddin Chowdhury, Md Shafiul Alam, Saifuddin Ahmed (Robi) and Syed Sajjad Zoha passed HSC exams, and Md Wayez Hossain Bhuiyan studied up to Alim (class XII).

Only MA Motin is a graduate (honours), while Arif Moinuddin is a postgraduate (history).

Except Wayez and Moinuddin, the rest own businesses. Wayez is the "field maintenance controller of Kafco", while Moinuddin kept the space for profession empty.