rajshahi, barishal city poll results

AL shuns festivity, BNP pushes for re-election

EC puts Sylhet results on hold

The Awami League (AL) responded to its victories in the Rajshahi and Barishal city polls in a low-key manner. It did not hold any victory celebrations after winning the elections. However, party leaders, activists and people from different walks of of life greeted AHM Khairuzzaman Liton of Rajshahi and and Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah of Barishal for their respective victories. The BNP, meanwhile, rejected the poll results in Rajshahi and Barishal, accusing the government of stealing votes. They also demanded re-polling in the two cities.

Our Rajshahi correspondent reports: The newly elected mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC), AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, expressed satisfaction over the holding of the election.

Claiming the RCC elections to be the most successful among the three civic polls held on July 30, Liton said voting was

held in a free and fair manner with no report of irregularities or rigging.

He was speaking at a press conference held at his house in the Upasahar residential area yestreday.

Liton brushed aside the allegations raised by the BNP candidates about irregularities in the polls. He said it was not clear the BNP mayoral candidate in Rajshahi, Bulbul, had boycotted the election.

The newly elected mayor said he would like to work by involving everyone in the development work in the city. Removal of garbage and cleaning the city would be among his first priorities, he added.

Earlier, thousands of AL leaders and activists and those of its affiliate organisations came to greet Liton for his victory.

Our Barishal correspondent reports: People from different walks of life, including party leaders and activists, greeted their newly elected mayor, Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah, by offering bouquets.

In Sylhet, the BNP mayoral candidate, Ariful Haque Chowdhury, is leading with 90,496 votes, while AL’s Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran has received got 86,870 votes in 132 centres out of total 134. The BNP candidate is leading by 3,626 votes, while the total number of voters in the two withheld centres is 4,787.

The elections to Rajshahi, Barishal, and Sylhet city corporations were held on Monday.

 The BNP, meanwhile, demanded re-polling in the two cities.  The party also announced for countrywide demonstrations tomorrow at city and district levels in protest against the failure of the government and the Election Commission(EC) in holding the polls in a free and fair manner.    

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday announced the programme at a press conference at the party central office in Naya Paltan. “The city corporation elections eventually turned into a festival of vote stealing. We had to fight not only the Awami League (AL), but also the local administration and the EC,” he said.

He also accused the EC and police of turning the elections into a farce. The BNP leader’s comments came as official reaction of the party a day after the polls were held in Rajshahi, Barishal and Sylhet city corporations.

“Among the three cities, we reject the results of the Barisal and Rajshahi civic polls. We re-election in the two cities,” he said.

About Sylhet city polls, the BNP leader said their mayoral candidate could have won with a margin of over one lakh votes had the election been held in a free and fair manner. The ruling party failed to implement their its design as the BNP men built a strong resistance in Sylhet, he added. The AL-backed mayoral candidates, AHM Khairuzzaman Liton and Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah, have won the mayoral posts in Rajshahi and Barishal, respectively, with huge margins.

The announcement of the results of Sylhet city has been postponed as the number of votes in the two centres where voting was suspended is higher than the difference between the two leading candidates’ tallies. However, BNP mayoral candidate Ariful Haque Chowdhury is leading in Sylhet. Fakhrul said the civic polls once again proved that it was not possible to hold any election under the Sheikh Hasina-led government.

Referring to vote rigging in 12 polling centres in Sylhet, the BNP leader said more than 100 people were still standing in a queue outside the centre when it was announced that all votes had been cast. He claimed that there was no sign of “hatpakha”, the poll symbol of the mayoral candidate of Islami Shasantantra Andolon, in the ballot papers in Barishal. He expressed deep regret over the chief election commissioner’s statement that  there was a free and fair election in the three cities.

Meanwhile, the BNP-backed mayoral candidate in Sylhet, Ariful Haque Chowdhury, who is leading against his Awami League (AL) opponent, has said that he would have been elected mayor of with a margin of over 100,000 votes had the poll been conducted in a free and fair manner.

The Election Commission (EC) had postponed the announcement of the poll results in Sylhet around Monday midnight as the number of votes in the two centres where voting was suspended was higher than the difference between the tallies of the two leading candidates.

Ariful was leading with 90,496 votes, while AL’s Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran received 86,870 votes in 132 centres out of the total 134.

The BNP candidate was leading by 3,626 votes, while the total number of voters in the two withheld centres was 4,787.

Under such circumstances, returning officer Mohammad Alimuzzaman postponed the announcement of the results. Talking to The Independent, Ariful thanked the residents of Sylhet for casting their votes in his favour by defying obstacles and intimidation.

rajshahi, barishal city poll results

AL shuns festivity, BNP pushes for re-election

EC puts Sylhet results on hold

The Awami League (AL) responded to its victories in the Rajshahi and Barishal city polls in a low-key manner. It did not hold any victory celebrations after winning the elections. However, party leaders, activists and people from different walks of of life greeted AHM Khairuzzaman Liton of Rajshahi and and Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah of Barishal for their respective victories. The BNP, meanwhile, rejected the poll results in Rajshahi and Barishal, accusing the government of stealing votes. They also demanded re-polling in the two cities. Our Rajshahi correspondent reports: The newly elected mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC), AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, expressed satisfaction over the holding of the election. Claiming the RCC elections to be the most successful among the three civic polls held on July 30, Liton said voting was held in a free and fair manner with no report of irregularities or rigging. He was speaking at a press conference held at his house in the Upasahar residential area yestreday. Liton brushed aside the allegations raised by the BNP candidates about irregularities in the polls. He said it was not clear the BNP mayoral candidate in Rajshahi, Bulbul, had boycotted the election. The newly elected mayor said he would like to work by involving everyone in the development work in the city. Removal of garbage and cleaning the city would be among his first priorities, he added. Earlier, thousands of AL leaders and activists and those of its affiliate organisations came to greet Liton for his victory. Our Barishal correspondent reports: People from different walks of life, including party leaders and activists, greeted their newly elected mayor, Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah, by offering bouquets. In Sylhet, the BNP mayoral candidate, Ariful Haque Chowdhury, is leading with 90,496 votes, while ALs Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran has received got 86,870 votes in 132 centres out of total 134. The BNP candidate is leading by 3,626 votes, while the total number of voters in the two withheld centres is 4,787. The elections to Rajshahi, Barishal, and Sylhet city corporations were held on Monday. The BNP, meanwhile, demanded re-polling in the two cities. The party also announced for countrywide demonstrations tomorrow at city and district levels in protest against the failure of the government and the Election Commission(EC) in holding the polls in a free and fair manner. BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday announced the programme at a press conference at the party central office in Naya Paltan. The city corporation elections eventually turned into a festival of vote stealing. We had to fight not only the Awami League (AL), but also the local administration and the EC, he said. He also accused the EC and police of turning the elections into a farce. The BNP leaders comments came as official reaction of the party a day after the polls were held in Rajshahi, Barishal and Sylhet city corporations. Among the three cities, we reject the results of the Barisal and Rajshahi civic polls. We re-election in the two cities, he said. About Sylhet city polls, the BNP leader said their mayoral candidate could have won with a margin of over one lakh votes had the election been held in a free and fair manner. The ruling party failed to implement their its design as the BNP men built a strong resistance in Sylhet, he added. The AL-backed mayoral candidates, AHM Khairuzzaman Liton and Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah, have won the mayoral posts in Rajshahi and Barishal, respectively, with huge margins. The announcement of the results of Sylhet city has been postponed as the number of votes in the two centres where voting was suspended is higher than the difference between the two leading candidates tallies. However, BNP mayoral candidate Ariful Haque Chowdhury is leading in Sylhet. Fakhrul said the civic polls once again proved that it was not possible to hold any election under the Sheikh Hasina-led government. Referring to vote rigging in 12 polling centres in Sylhet, the BNP leader said more than 100 people were still standing in a queue outside the centre when it was announced that all votes had been cast. He claimed that there was no sign of hatpakha, the poll symbol of the mayoral candidate of Islami Shasantantra Andolon, in the ballot papers in Barishal. He expressed deep regret over the chief election commissioners statement that there was a free and fair election in the three cities. Meanwhile, the BNP-backed mayoral candidate in Sylhet, Ariful Haque Chowdhury, who is leading against his Awami League (AL) opponent, has said that he would have been elected mayor of with a margin of over 100,000 votes had the poll been conducted in a free and fair manner. The Election Commission (EC) had postponed the announcement of the poll results in Sylhet around Monday midnight as the number of votes in the two centres where voting was suspended was higher than the difference between the tallies of the two leading candidates. Ariful was leading with 90,496 votes, while ALs Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran received 86,870 votes in 132 centres out of the total 134. The BNP candidate was leading by 3,626 votes, while the total number of voters in the two withheld centres was 4,787. Under such circumstances, returning officer Mohammad Alimuzzaman postponed the announcement of the results. Talking to The Independent, Ariful thanked the residents of Sylhet for casting their votes in his favour by defying obstacles and intimidation.