The curtain is going to fall on the electioneering in 234 municipalities on Monday midnight, 32 hours before balloting begins at 8am on Wednesday.
“The election campaign will end at 12am Monday and the Commission has also asked outsiders to leave the election areas by Monday,” Election Commissioner Shah Nawaz on Monday told reporters at his Election Commission Secretariat office. As per the election rules, no one can call or join any rally, or organise or attend any public rally or procession or showdown in the election areas from Monday midnight to Friday midnight in the election areas.
Meanwhile, some 1.17 lakh members of law enforcement agencies, including police, Rab, Ansar, BGB and Coast Guard as well as some 1200 magistrates were posted in the municipalities on Monday for four days to maintain law and order and election-friendly atmosphere. Of the 1.17 lakh law enforcers, some 45,000 of police, while 9415 of BGB, 8,424 of Rab, 225 of Coast Guard, 49,728 of Ansar and VDP, 4,512 of Battalion Ansar.
A total of 279 platoons (a platoon comprising 35 members) of the paramilitary force-Border Guarder Bangladesh-was deployed in 228 municipalities, and a platoon of Coast Guard in each six others close to the coast-Muladi, Mehendiganj, Patharghata, Ramgati, Hatia and Swandip. At least 234 mobile teams comprising Rab members are on patrol, while 81 teams comprising Rab members and 234 separate teams comprising the members of the police, the APBn and the Ansar will be deployed as striking force for the four days in the election areas.
A total of 1203 magistrates – 238 judicial magistrates and 965 executive magistrates – have been deployed to conduct mobile courts to punish polls code violations from December 28 to December 31 in the municipalities. At least five magistrates, including a judicial magistrate remain in each municipality.
The EC on Monday issued a directive to all returning officers to send the election results sheet immediately after the vote count ends. It also asked them to be alert over post-polls violence.
However, no foreign observers other than four of Asia Foundation have so far taken EC’s permission to observe the municipal elections. According to EC’s statistics, over 12,000 candidates – 945 mayoral, some 8,746 general councillor and over 2,480 women councillor contenders in reserved seats – are contesting the polls for 3,158 posts including 234 mayoral ones in the election. Of the candidates, seven mayoral candidates and 134 other councillor contenders have already been elected uncontested in different municipalities. All the seven mayoral contenders are of ruling Awami League.
Among the 945 mayoral candidates, 659 aspirants are running the polls political party’s tickets, while the remaining 286 as independent candidates. Awami League has representation in all 234 municipalities, while its arch rival BNP in 223 and officially main opposition Jatiya in only 73 municipalities.
According to intelligence reports sent to the Election Commission, some 2029 criminals remain active in the election areas. Of them, 561 are of AL and 1121 of BNP. The Commission has already directed the law enforcement agencies to crack down on the criminals ahead of the election.
Nearly 71 lakh voters will be eligible to exercise their franchise through 3555 polling stations, including 1184 thought to be ‘vulnerable’ centres in the election.
The restriction will be imposed on plying of all types of motorised vehicles except permitted ones from December 29 midnight to December 30 midnight in the election areas.
