Common concern for all

Major political parties are trying to make sure that they do not have rebel candidates slicing away their precious votes in the polls to 236 municipalities on December 30.

Almost all the major parties in the recent past had learnt the hard way how troublesome dissident candidates could be in local government elections.

The elections are set to generate some heat in the country's political landscape. Party policymakers would have to struggle to pick just one candidate for each mayor post and enhance their chances of winning.

The ruling Awami League top brass knows this very well and they would sit today to fix the criteria for picking the party's mayoral aspirants. Members of AL Central Working Committee and the parliamentary board would sit together at the Gono Bhaban with party chief Sheikh Hasina, said the AL in a press release yesterday.

"The meeting will specially discuss the municipality elections,” AL Joint Secretary General Mahbubul Alam Hanif told The Daily Star yesterday.

Some senior AL leaders have already said that their party might face intra-party rivalries in the polls.

Hanif, however, yesterday said the party would take proper actions in such cases. “After finalising the criteria by the party central committee, respective district leaders and MPs will select the prospective mayor aspirants with several alternatives on the basis of the criteria," he added.

The party's selection board would make the final decision on who gets to run and everyone would have to be okay with that, he added.

The BNP in the wee hours of today decided in principle to take part in the polls despite having concerns whether the polls would be free and fair.

Talking to The Daily Star before the meeting, BNP Joint Secretary General Md Shajahan said they would work to ensure just one mayor candidate from the party in each municipality.

Leaders at the meeting held at BNP chief Khaleda Zia's Gulshan office were largely in favour of taking part in the polls.

At a formal briefing after the marathon meeting, BNP spokesperson Asaduzzaman Ripon said BNP leaders entrusted Khaleda to make the final decision. "No decision about the matter has been finalised yet. She'll inform us about her decision soon."

“Although we have doubts that the present Election Commission will not be able to hold a free and fair election, most of us spoke in favour of joining the polls,” BNP standing committee member Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman told The Daily Star after the meeting early today.

Most senior leaders told the BNP chief that the party would gain more if it joined the polls despite the possibility of the ruling party “snatching polls result”, meeting sources added.

Many grassroots level BNP leaders, who are not in jail or are “braving the possibility of getting arrested”, have already started working for the campaign. However, some were of the view that the elections would not change the government so why bother risking arrest or reprisal from the ruling party men.

BNP policymakers think the party would benefit even if the government “snatches the results” of the municipalities through manipulation as the party would get people's sympathy as well as the support of the international community.

The main opposition Jatiya Party is rather ahead with its election preparations.

The party headquarters has already instructed its president and secretaries of all district units and MPs to send in a list of prospective mayor candidates, JP presidium member Tajul Islam Chowdhury yesterday told The Daily Star.

“On receiving the lists, the party chairman (HM Ershad) would finalise one candidate for each of the mayoral posts,” said Tajul, also opposition chief whip.

Jamaat-e-Islami leaders said they were positive about taking part in the elections although the party had been facing its worst ever time since its rebirth in independent Bangladesh in 1979.

Mosiul Alam, member, Jamaat central majlish-e-sura, said a six-member election committee, led by the party's acting secretary general Shafiqur Rahman, would finalise its mayor aspirants on discussion with BNP and other components in the BNP-led 20-party alliance.

In the past, all parties had problems with rebel candidates in local body elections carving out their share of the pie. The dissidents caused headaches for party policymakers then and the same could happen this time around. The parties could only nominate one candidate per post, according to the rules.

However, those elections, unlike the upcoming one, were “non-partisan” in nature. 

The EC yesterday directed all returning officers of upcoming municipality polls to remove campaign posters, banners and billboards, by early Friday since no candidate is allowed to campaign three weeks before election day.