Staff Reporter :
Awami League leaders on Tuesday termed the BNP’s boycott of city polls in Dhaka and Chittagong as preplanned saying that Khaleda Zia knew that her party-backed mayor and councilor candidates were sure to defeat.
“As she (Khaleda Zia) knew that her party backed mayor and councilor candidates would be defeated in the city corporation elections, they boycotted the polls in a preplanned way. Khaleda Zia is now staging drama,” AL Joint General secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif told a press conference at the AL president’s Dhanmondi party office in city.
BNP boycotted the city elections in Dhaka and Chittagong bringing allegations of widespread vote rigging and capturing of polling centres by pro-Awami League men with the help of law enforcers and polling officials.
Hanif ruled out the BNP’s allegation about massive vote rigging saying such incident did not take place.
“The election to all the three city corporations in Dhaka and Chittagong were held in a free, fair and peaceful manner,” Hanif said.
When asked about ousting of BNP agents from the polling centres, he said such allegation was not correct.
“By boycotting polls, BNP is now trying to create confusion and mislead the people,” he said.
Hanif said that being failed to gear up movement by burning people to death, Khaleda Zia’s decision to take part in the city corporation elections was a strategy of her party to make another issue.
At a separate press briefing at AL central office at Bangabandhu Avenue on Tuesday, Abdur Razzak, coordinator of AL backed mayor candidate in Dhaka South City Corporation, said being isolated and rejected by the people BNP has boycotted the city corporation elections.
“As BNP unleashed a reign of terror across the country and killed many people by launching arson attacks in last three months in the name of movement, it doesn’t have public support. As Khaleda Zia came to know that her party-backed candidates wouldn’t be able to win the polls, the party boycotted the elections,” he told reporters.
