Half of councillors freshers in Chittagong city

More than half of the new councillors, both in general wards and reserved seats for women, in Chittagong city have been elected for the first time, riding on the alleged failures of the old figures and voters' expectations for change.

Meanwhile, BNP leader Ameer Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury yesterday sent a letter to the returning officer of Chittagong, demanding a re-vote in Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) because "massive rigging took place" in the April 28 election.

The ruling party goons occupied 80 percent of polling centres by driving out the polling agents of BNP-backed mayor candidate M Manjur Alam within 11:00am and stuffed ballot boxes, the city BNP president said in the letter.

The letter said the people of Chittagong were shocked to see this "unprecedented rigging" with direct or indirect cooperation of law enforcement agencies and the administration involved with election management, in broad daylight.

The city elections in Dhaka and Chittagong were a mockery of democracy, it added.

NEW COUNCILLORS

In the city, 22 out of the total 41 general councillors and eight out of the total 14 councillors in reserved seats for women are elected for the first time.

Talking to The Daily Star, the first-time winners said the voters had “lost their faith” in the old figures, and wanted new faces to rely on. In ward 24 (North Agrabad), pro-Awami League winner Nazmul Haque said the residents were aggrieved because the conservancy workers did not clean the dustbins regularly, and they faced delay in getting citizenship certificates. SM Ershad Ullah, new councillor of ward 25 (Rampur), said people wanted an honest man, while Hasan Murad of ward 33 (Firingibazar) thinks voters wanted a change. Abida Azad, the first time councillor in the reserved seat 4, said she was elected for her clean image built through her social activities.

Md Abdul Aziz, a voter of ward 8 (Shulokbahar), said the previous councillor failed to address the problems of the area, so the voters chose a new face.