BNP nominated candidate Golam Mohammad Siraj has secured victory in the Bogura-6 by-election by a big margin of votes.
Siraj bagged 89,782 votes while his nearest contestant, Awami League nominated candidate T Zaman Niketa, got 32,297 votes in the by-election, Zakir Hossain, Bogura Sadar upazila election officer, announced the result.
Around 34.55 per cent votes were cast in the by-election. There are total 387,458 voters in the constituency, our Bogura correspondent reports quoting the election official.
The by-election to the parliamentary constituency began around 9:00am and continued till 5:00pm without any break amid very low turnout of voters at many polling stations.
Photo: STAR/ Mostafa Shabuj
However, no irregularities were reported from any polling centre as the Election Commission (EC) took all necessary preparations to hold the by-polls smoothly using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
The constituency was declared vacant as BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, who was elected from the parliamentary seat in the December 30 general election, did not take oath as MP within the 90 days from the date of the first meeting of the Jatiya Sangsad.
Nurul Islam Omar of Jatiya Party, Mansur Rahman of Bangladesh Congress, Mufti Rafiqul Islam of Muslim League and independent candidate Md Minhaz Mondal also contested in the by-polls.
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Hearing the ruling party's general secretary say that the BNP's October 28 rally in the capital would face a similar reaction as did the one on December 10 last year, we can now gauge what the intention of the government is. Perhaps, many of us have already started adjusting our diaries, out of fear of violence or to avoid harassment in the name of heightened security. The possibility of another unannounced shutdown (better to be called a hartal enforced by the supporters of the ruling party) may also encourage them to leave Dhaka simply to avoid any additional suffering.
The warning given to BNP by Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader for its expressed intent is undoubtedly worrying and deplorable. On the other hand, it is also an admission that the government did crack down on the opposition on December 7, 2022, for which they had so far put the blame on BNP's alleged subversive activities.
Many questions still remain unanswered as to why the government was so desperate to deter BNP from holding a mass rally in front of the latter's central office, to the extent that police had to storm the party office in Nayapaltan, clear the whole area, and term it a no-go zone for about a week. Can anyone forget that a simple dispute over a venue had caused so much trouble not even a year ago?
There's little doubt that the government's refusal to participate in open talks with the opposition – and find a way of holding a credible election according to international standards – is prolonging BNP's agitation. To make things worse, the ruling party's counter programmes, aimed at keeping a hold on the streets, have already caused trouble across the country as AL members have interpreted this as a directive to deny the opposition any space for holding protests.
In the end, the authorities did allow BNP to hold its grand rally on the day, only a few kilometres away. But in the meantime, one person had to die, tens of people were injured, and a couple of the opposition's top leaders were imprisoned. It was then reported that police had fired at least 1,780 rounds of rubber bullets, tear gas canisters, and sound grenades during the clash. Instead of a supposedly day-long disruption to normal city life, it became such a prolonged nightmare for citizens that the restriction of their movement did not stop at random frisking/checking of people and vehicles, but also infringed their rights to privacy by way of law enforcers going through the contents of citizens' personal mobile phones.
The violent suppression of the opposition's protest also alarmed the international community. Expressing concerns over reports of intimidation, political violence, harassment by police, arrests of opposition party members, and restrictions on the ability of opposition parties to meet and hold peaceful rallies, the United States called for guaranteeing the right to peaceful assembly and refraining from using excessive force against protesters. The UN and a number of rights groups also joined voices in support of allowing peaceful protests.
Early indications, such as suing and detaining opposition activists on charges of alleged "subversion," suggest that the threat of the December 10 situation being repeated should not be taken lightly. Despite the fact that the nature of our politics is historically confrontational, the current round of protests spearheaded by BNP is reasonably peaceful. But the vocabulary used by leaders of the ruling party, and by Obaidul Quader in particular, seem to be aimed at fuelling anger and escalating tension. Human Rights Watch has already called it, saying "threats against opposition leaders undermine election integrity." Quader's earlier warnings include a threat of "pouring uranium" on the head of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and not allowing him to return to Dhaka.
Many observers have hoped that the ruling party will change its strategy and strive to improve the political climate ahead of the election, since the government has been seen trying to convince the international community that it will deliver a free and fair election. Despite this pledge, the international community is far from convinced due to the controversies surrounding the elections in 2014 and 2018. The current Election Commission, too, has admitted that it's been a victim of the fallout of those sham elections. Given this context, the US announced a visa policy regarding "individuals responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh."
There's little doubt that the government's refusal to participate in open talks with the opposition – and find a way of holding a credible election according to international standards – is prolonging BNP's agitation. To make things worse, the ruling party's counter programmes, aimed at keeping a hold on the streets, have already caused trouble across the country as AL members have interpreted this as a directive to deny the opposition any space for holding protests.
It is quite perplexing why the government seems set to repeat the measures that led to horrifying consequences between December 7 and 11 in 2022. No one wants to see the SWAT being deployed in battle gear to tackle a political protest. If a political party wants to stage a sit-in protest, why should they be denied that right? Didn't the Awami League itself stage such protests many years ago, and in order to demand the introduction of a caretaker government system, no less?
In any case, resolving differences over election management, instead of suppressing protest, would also be in the best interests of the country's economy. The US visa policy, undeniably, has unnerved our business community the most as they can ill afford any penalty imposed on the economy, which has already been experiencing its devastating shocks.
Kamal Ahmedis an independent journalist. His X handle is @ahmedka1
Views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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Expressing concern over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in India's Assam, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today said NRC is a threat to Bangladesh's independence and sovereignty.
The NRC will an unstable situation not only in Bangladesh but also in the entire subcontinent, he said.
The BNP leader was talking to reporters after placing wreath at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial in Mirpur to pay homage to the martyred intellectuals on the occasion of Martyred Intellectuals Day today.
Country's people are concerned over the NRC but the government is nothing doing about it, Fakhrul alleged.
Over the cases filed against BNP leaders and activists, the BNP leader said the government is attempting to stun all democratic political parties from their activities by filling "false" cases.
"We will have to united the whole nation and fight together to restore the democracy across the country," he said.
He urged countrymen inclining party leaders to follow the paths of martyred intellectuals to protect the country's sovereignty and restore democracy.
More than 19 lakh out of about 3.3 crore applicants have been left off the final National Register of Citizens (NRC), published on August 31.
The NRC authority headed by the apex court-appointed State Coordinator Prateek Hajela released the final NRC on its official website and through its social media handles.
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BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has tested Covid-19 positive.
He is at home, under the supervision of Dr Raiyhan Rabbani, Syrul Kabir Khan, an official of Khaleda Zia's press wing, told The Daily Star.
Earlier, Fakhrul tested positive for Covid-19 on January 11 this year.
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BNP activists continue to gather on Alia Madrasa ground in Sylhet city's Chowhatta area, hours before the rally starts.
Chanting slogans and holding placards, BNP supporters have been marching towards the venue in procession since dawn.
Meanwhile, the BNP has finalised all its preparations for the rally, reports our Sylhet correspondent.
Photo: Sheikh Nasir
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the chief guest at the rally, and other central leaders reached Sylhet last night.
Though the transport strike almost cut off Sylhet from the rest of the country, the activists, mostly from the four districts in Sylhet division, travelled to the city on rented buses, trucks, private vehicles, motorcycles and boats.
While talking to The Daily Star this morning, Masuk Mia, a BNP supporter of Sunamganj's Dowarabazar upazila, "There is no peace during this party's (the Awami League) rule. The price of everything is high... I decided to protest and came to Sylhet on a boat because of the transport strike."
Photo: Sheikh Nasir
Masuk went to Sylhet yesterday afternoon and spend the night at a community centre.
Hazrat Ali of Sylhet's Jaintapur Upazila, who stayed at a relative's house after reaching the city, said, "I had to come a day before the rally as they enforced a transport strike for today [Saturday]. I heard vehicles are being barred from coming to Sylhet since this morning," he said.
Talking to this newspaper, Fazle Elahi, a resident of Sylhet city, said, "I arrived at the venue early to secure my place in the front row. Due to a huge crowd, I feared that I might not be able to enter the venue if I was late."
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BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today said that the entire nation is disappointed as Awami League did not outline any plan during its national council to get rid of the country’s prevailing crisis.
“Awami League has been working to establish one-party rule in the country since the last decade and the desire exposed during its council,” Fakhrul said while addressing a programme at the party’s Nayapaltan central office in Dhaka this noon.
Blaming the ruling party for destroying the country’s democratic system and ignoring its charter, Fakhrul said, “The entire nation has expected that they would see a path to retrieve the smashed democracy, but Awami League met an utter failure to show any guideline.”
Citing the country’s political and social and economic crises, the BNP leader said, “A person and a party have been praised during the council instead of getting rid the nation from the debacle.”
Responding to a query about his party’s council, he said, “We are passing through an adverse situation as no space is being given us for politics.”
The party’s organisational activities are being hampered everywhere even the party’s district and upazila level councils are being barred deliberately, the BNP leader said.
Responding to a remark of a minister that BNP-Jamaat is involved in preparing Razakars’ list, Fakhrul said, “It is nothing but an attempt to shift the blame to on another shoulder. It’s not a new and its Awami League characteristic.”
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