34 mayor aspirants quit on protest

Badrul Ahsan :As many as thirty-four mayor aspirants, including eleven BNP candidates, in the Wednesday’s municipal elections have quit the race, raising different allegations, including polling centre seizure and ballot box stuffing by supporters of rivals.Of the other dropouts, one from the Awami League and Jatiya Party each and two from Islami Andolon while five are Awami League rebels, one is a BNP rebel and three are independent candidates.According to district correspondents of The New Nation, most of the contestants declared their decision to boycott the polls within one to two hours of the beginning of voting on Wednesday morning showing their helplessness to the irregularities done by the musclemen of the government supported candidates.Almost all of the dropouts alleged that polling centres had been seized and ballot boxes stuffed by supporters of their rivals. During the declaration, they have also demanded re-election in the municipalities.”Ruling party goons have taken over all 15 voting centres in Sandwip and driven out my agents from there,” Bahadur a BNP supported mayoral candidate of Sandwip area said while declaring his withdrawal of candidateship.This, he said, made him boycott the election.Similar allegations were raised by almost all other candidates those who have boycotted their candidateship.”Outsiders took over the polling stations last night and forced my agents to leave. I have no alternative but to withdraw from the polls race,” VP Abdur Rahim, an individual candidate of Sirajgonj area told journalists at his residence around 10:30am. “Ruling party goons have taken over all 15 voting centres in my area and driven out my agents from there,” he said. “Ruling party supporters with the help of law enforcers have ousted all of my polling agents and put ‘jal’ (illegally given votes) votes in the boxes within an hour of starting the voting. So what could we do without withdrawing our candidateship? Said Jakaria Khan, an Awami League rebels of Kushtia.However, reports of the boycott have come from Chittagong’s Sandwip, Raozan and Rangunia, Barguna, Jamalpur, Jamalpur’s Deawanganj, Lakshmipur’s Raipur, Brahmanbarhia’s Akhaurha, Tangail’s Madhupur, Sirajganj’s Shahjadpur and Bhola, Dhaka’s Dhamrai, Narsingdi, Pabna’s Ishwardi, Joypurhat’s Kalai, Kishoreganj’s Bhairab and Bajitpur, Narhail and Jhenaidah’s Harinakundu.Meanwhile, according to our district correspondents, voting in 13 polling centres in seven municipalities of Comilla, Chittagong, Madaripur, Jamalpur, Narsingdi and Mymensingh districts were postponed on allegation of vote rigging, capturing voting stations and forced balloting on Wednesday.