Despite the severe cold wave, city election fever has gripped the capital. Dhaka warmed up with the hustles and bustles of leaders and activists of different political parties centring the upcoming elections of two city corporations – Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) – scheduled for January 30.
Distribution of party nomination forms among the candidates for the elections ended Friday evening. A total of 28 aspirants for the two mayoral posts and around 1,600 for 172 word councilor posts collected nomination forms from different parties, including ruling Awami League, Jatiya Party and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), said sources.
Names of the candidates for two mayoral and 172 word councilors’ posts will be finalized (Today) Saturday. There are 75 word councilor posts and 25 reserved seats (exclusively for women) in DSCC and 54 word councilor posts and 18 reserved seats in DNCC. The aspirants collected nomination forms from their respective party offices. Distribution of nomination papers started from the respective party offices on December 25.
Awami League sources said, a total of 20 mayoral candidates –eight for DSCC and 12 for DNCC – collected nomination forms from the AL President Sheikh Hasina’s political office at Dhanmondi. Incumbent DNCC Mayor M Atiqul Islam, Bangabandhu Foundation Joint General Secretary Shahidullah Osman and Bhasantek AL unit Vice President Yaad Al Fakir, among others, collected party’s nomination forms to vie for DNCC mayoral post.
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Friday said that no controversial candidates would get the ruling party’s nomination in the upcoming DNCC and DSCC elections. He came up with the remark at a press briefing at party president’s political office in Dhanmondi in the morning.
He said the party will not give nomination to those who are controversial in politics. “Only people with clean records will get nomination,” he said. “Popularity, acceptance and clean reputation will be considered for the mayoral post of DNCC and DSCC.” AL’s Local Government Nomination Board will meet at the Prime Minister's official residence Ganobhaban at 6pm on Saturday where decision over the nominations of two mayors and 172 councilor candidates will be taken, Quader said.
So far nine and seven people collected nomination forms for mayoral posts of DNCC and DSCC respectively. Besides, present Mayor of DSCC Mohammad Syeed Khokon, AL lawmakers Barrister Fazle Noor Taposh, Haji Selim, Sheikh Russel Jatiya Shishu Kishore Parishad Advisor Najmul Haq and former Secretary General of Central Command Council of Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad MA Rashid and AL’s Law Affairs Secretary Nazibullah Hiru, among others, collected nomination forms from the party for the DSCC mayor election.
On the other hand, Jatiya Party candidate Brig. Gen. (retd.) Kamrul Islam collected nomination form for the mayoral post of the DNCC, while Hazi Saifuddin Ahmed Milon and Alamgir Sikder collected party nomination papers for the mayoral post of the DSCC. BNP chairperson’s press wing member Sairul Kabir said that Dr Asaduzzaman Ripon and Tabith Awal, son of BNP Vice Chairman Abdul Awal Mintoo, collected party nomination forms for the DNCC mayor polls, while Ishraque Hossain, son of late Mayor Sadek Hossain Khoka, collected party nomination form for DSCC mayoral post.
As many as 300 candidates collected BNP nomination forms for the councilor posts for the two city corporations, he added. Islamic Andolan Bangladesh’s Maulana Sheikh Fazle Bari Masud collected party nomination form for DNCC mayoral post, while Alhajj Abdur Rahman for DSCC mayoral post, party sources said.
According to EC, there are some 54 lakh voters in the capital’s two city corporations. Of them, 30.36 lakh are under 54 wards in DNCC and 23.67 lakh under 75 wards in DSCC. Meanwhile, the Left Democratic Alliance (LDA)-- a combine of eight left-leaning parties--and several Islamist parties refrain from contesting the polls.
In the upcoming elections, the number of possible polling stations will be 2,500 in the two cities. The elections will be held for a mayoral post, 75 councilor posts and 25 reserved seats (exclusively for women) in DSCC and a mayoral post, 54 councilor posts and 18 reserved seats in DNCC.
On December 22, the Election Commission announced the schedule for the DNCC and the DSCC elections. The last date for submission of nomination papers is December 31 and the last date for withdrawal of candidacy is January 9. The EC will scrutinize nomination papers on January 2.
