Pabna upazila by-polls: AL-backed candidates win amid allegations of irregularities
Awami League-backed candidates won the by-elections of Bera and Ishwardi upazila parishads in Pabna on Thursday amid allegations of irregularities, controversy and poor voter turnout.
According to district election office, AL candidate Rejaul Haque got 97,906 votes in Bera upazila parishad election while BNP-backed candidate Raich Uddin got 5,511 votes.
In Ishwardi upazila, AL-nominated candidate Nayeb Ali Bishwas got 97,212 votes while BNP-nominated candidate Ajmal Hossain Sujon possessed 2,217 votes.
Raich Uddin in Bera upazila alleged earlier in the day that the voting was not held in a free and fair manner and blamed the local administration for this.
Visiting several vote centres in the two upazilas, our Pabna correspondent found poor presence of voters in every centre while people gathered outside the voting centres and formed queues, posing for cameras when journalists reached there.
Masumdia Government Primary School in Bera uupazila was a centre for female voters. When the correspondent visited the centre around 12 noon on Thursday, no female voter was found at the centre. Seeing journalists, a group of young people outside the vote centre formed a queue.
About half an hour later, just two female voters were seen coming to the centre to cast their votes.
SM Aktaruzzaman, presiding officer of the centre, however claimed votes were already cast for eight ballot paper books out of a total 2,235 votes at the centre.
Visiting Kashinathpur Mohila Degree College centre in the same upazila, the correspondent saw similar scenes.
Later in the day, BNP-nominated candidate Raich Uddin alleged that the local administration and ruling party men hampered the election environment in the upazila.
"There was no peaceful environment for voters. When my polling agents went to the centres, ruling party men forced them out. When voters went to the centre, ruling party men forced them out too. As we complained regarding the matter to the local administration, they did not take any step to ensure that voters could go to the centres and cast their votes," Raich alleged.
At least 20 BNP men were injured in clashes at different centres in Bera upazila, he claimed.
Talking to The Daily Star, Md Mahabubur Rahman, district election officer, however said there was no official complaint made in this connection, adding that the by-elections were held peacefully in Ishwardi and Bera upazilas.
"We have sent ballot papers in the morning on the voting day to avoid any controversy. The election was held peacefully," he claimed.
The voting started around 9:00am and continued till 5:00pm.
The chairman's post of Bera upazila parishad fell vacant after the sitting chairman, Md Abdul Kader, died with Covid-19 on September 10.
On the other hand, chairman of Ishwardi upazila parishad, Nuruzzaman Bishwas, was elected as lawmaker of Pabna-4 constituency in the by-election, leaving the post of chairman vacant in Ishwardi upazila, according to the district election office.
There are a total 2,03,802 voters under 68 polling centres in Bera upazila and 2,54,108 voters under 84 polling centres in Ishwardi upazila.
AL CANDIDATES WIN FARIDPUR, MADARIPUR MUNICIPALITY POLLS
Ruling Awami League backed candidates were declared unofficially elected mayors of two municipalities under Faridpur and one in Madaripur on Thursday.
Those are Faridpur and Madhukhali municipalities under Faridpur and Rajoir municipality respectively under Madaripur.
"AL-backed candidate Amitab Bosh became the Faridpur municipality mayor by bagging 56,822 votes while his nearest contestant, BNP-backed candidate Chowdhury Nayaba Yusuf, got 27,330 votes.
Khandakar Morshed Rahman Limon became the Madhukhali municipality mayor by bagging 10,682 votes while his nearest contestant, BNP candidate Sahabuddin Ahamed, got 4,205 votes," said Habibur Rahman, district election officer in Faridpur.
"AL-backed candidate Nazma Rashid won the Rajoir municipality mayor post by bagging 9,773 votes while her nearest contestant, AL rebel candidate Siddiqur Rahman Bakkar, got 7, 598 votes," said Md Monirujaman, district election officer in Madaripur.
Some elderly and marginalised people in the districts said they faced difficulties in using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to cast their votes, although the Election Commission held mock voting ahead of the elections.
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