UNB, Dhaka :
Electioneering ahead of the pourashava polls is set to gather pace as the Election Commission will allocate election symbols to mayoral and councillor candidates in 235 municipalities across the country on Monday.
As the election of the mayoral post of each municipality has been opened up to registered political parties for the first time, some of the famed and emotive electoral symbols of the country’s political parties – such as ruling Awami League’s nouka (boat) and the BNP’s dhaaner shish (paddy sheaf) – will also feature at the local level for the first time.
The EC will assign symbols of 19 participant political parties to some 680 mayoral candidates nominated by the parties for the December 30 election. Besides, the Commission will allot electoral symbols to some 400 independent mayoral candidates and nearly 12,000 councillor contestants, including women councillor aspirants in reserved seats of the municipalities.
With the symbol allocation, the political party-nominated mayoral candidates will be allowed to carry out the electioneering using their respective party’s symbol from Monday.
Though candidates from the parties knew their symbols, they were not allowed to use their party symbols before the formal allocation. The election campaign began on December 9, three weeks before the date of ballot.
According to EC’s statistics, 1056 mayoral candidates –671 nominated by political parties and 385 independent aspirants- have made
it through the EC’s assessment of their documents submitted in favour of their candidacy. Some 157 others got their nomination paper trashed during the scrutiny on December 5 and 6.
Of the 671 mayoral candidates from the political parties in 235 municipalities, 231 are of Awami League, while 224 of BNP and 85 of Jatiya Party (Ershad), 56 of Islami Andolan Bangladesh and 24 of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-Jasod.
During the scrutiny, nomination papers of seven AL mayoral candidates and nine BNP contestants and six Jatiya Party aspirants were cancelled. Moreover, the returning officers declared valid to nomination papers of 9169 general councillor candidates and 2510 women councillor (reserved seats) hopefuls.
But the number of valid mayoral and councillor candidates will rise as some aspirants got back their candidature from the Appellate Authorities after challenging the cancellation of their nomination papers.
The Election Commission in November last declared election schedule for 236 municipalities. Latter, polls to Mongla port municipality of Bagerhat was postponed following a court order.
Electioneering ahead of the pourashava polls is set to gather pace as the Election Commission will allocate election symbols to mayoral and councillor candidates in 235 municipalities across the country on Monday.
As the election of the mayoral post of each municipality has been opened up to registered political parties for the first time, some of the famed and emotive electoral symbols of the country’s political parties – such as ruling Awami League’s nouka (boat) and the BNP’s dhaaner shish (paddy sheaf) – will also feature at the local level for the first time.
The EC will assign symbols of 19 participant political parties to some 680 mayoral candidates nominated by the parties for the December 30 election. Besides, the Commission will allot electoral symbols to some 400 independent mayoral candidates and nearly 12,000 councillor contestants, including women councillor aspirants in reserved seats of the municipalities.
With the symbol allocation, the political party-nominated mayoral candidates will be allowed to carry out the electioneering using their respective party’s symbol from Monday.
Though candidates from the parties knew their symbols, they were not allowed to use their party symbols before the formal allocation. The election campaign began on December 9, three weeks before the date of ballot.
According to EC’s statistics, 1056 mayoral candidates –671 nominated by political parties and 385 independent aspirants- have made
it through the EC’s assessment of their documents submitted in favour of their candidacy. Some 157 others got their nomination paper trashed during the scrutiny on December 5 and 6.
Of the 671 mayoral candidates from the political parties in 235 municipalities, 231 are of Awami League, while 224 of BNP and 85 of Jatiya Party (Ershad), 56 of Islami Andolan Bangladesh and 24 of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-Jasod.
During the scrutiny, nomination papers of seven AL mayoral candidates and nine BNP contestants and six Jatiya Party aspirants were cancelled. Moreover, the returning officers declared valid to nomination papers of 9169 general councillor candidates and 2510 women councillor (reserved seats) hopefuls.
But the number of valid mayoral and councillor candidates will rise as some aspirants got back their candidature from the Appellate Authorities after challenging the cancellation of their nomination papers.
The Election Commission in November last declared election schedule for 236 municipalities. Latter, polls to Mongla port municipality of Bagerhat was postponed following a court order.
