SM Mizanur Rahman :
Mayor and councillor aspirants for the upcoming municipality polls will submit their nomination papers to the returning officers across the country today (Thursday).
As per the schedule, the date of the submission of nomination papers expires today (Thursday), while the dates of the scrutiny on December 5 and 6 and the withdrawal of candidature on December 13.
Additional Deputy Commissioners (General) have been appointed as returning officers, while 60 district election officers and 133 upazila election officers will discharge the duties of assistant returning officers.
Awami League President Sheikh Hasina, BNP’s Joint-Secretary General M Shahjahan and Jatiya Party Chairman Ershad selected their mayor candidates based on the grassroots leaders and workers’ opinions.
As on Wednesday distribution of nomination papers among the mayor aspirants concluded, many of them with their respective political parties’ symbol’ already reached their hometowns and some other on the way.
When contacted, Parvez Mahmhud, ruling Awami League nominated mayor candidate for Kishoreganj municipality, termed the poll as thrill and said, as the mayor candidates are going to contest the polls with party symbol this time, election will be different from the past.
“After getting party ticket to contest the mayor election I just left the capital Dhaka on Wednesday for my home town Kishoreganj to submit my nomination paper on Thursday,” he told The New Nation.
Talking to The New Nation, Mazharul Islam, a BNP nominated mayor candidate of the same district said that he returned to Kishoreganj from Dhaka on Wednesday night with party ticket.
“I’m very happy as my party has nominated me to contest the municipality polls as mayor. I along with my local leaders and supporters will go to the returning officer on Thursday morning to submit my nomination paper,” he said.
If the voters are able to cast their votes at their respective polling centres, I shall win, says Mazharul Islam.
Out of 323, elections to 234 municipalities across the country will be held on December 30.
Meanwhile, Awami League on Tuesday and Wednesday distributed nomination papers to its nominated candidates signed by party president Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“Awami League distributed nomination papers till 2 am on Wednesday night and again from morning to evening,” Awami League joint general secretary told journalists.
On the other hand, BNP continued the distribution of nomination papers among its mayor aspirants for the second day on Wednesday to contest the December-30 municipal polls.
BNP Joint-Secretary General Mohammad Shahjahan, who was authorised by Khaleda Zia to authenticate the party’s selected candidates, handed over the nomination letters to the candidates since morning at the party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office.
Like previous day, BNP mayor candidates and their supporters thronged in front of the BNP chief’s Gulshan office to collect the nomination papers.
All the prospective candidates who thronged BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office since Tuesday to collect nomination papers have already started leaving the capital for their respective home towns.
The municipal elections will partly be held under party line for the first time as Parliament passed the Local Government (Municipality) (Amendment) Bill 2015 on November 19, paving the path for mayor candidates to contest the elections with party symbols.
Some 71,62,396 voters, including 35,86,356 men and 35,76,040 women, will exercise their franchise in 19,187 booths of 3,582 polling stations.
Around 3,924 public representatives, including 234 mayors, 738 reserved female councillors and 2952 general councillors will be elected.
About 3582 presiding officers, 19,187 assistant presiding officers and 38,374 polling officers will conduct the polls.
Independent mayor aspirants, except those who were elected mayors in the past, need to collect the signatures of 100 voters of their respective municipalities to contest the polls as per the electoral rule, the CEC said.
As per the electoral rules, a political party can spend maximum Tk one lakh as election expenditure in each municipality, he said.
