Staff Reporter:
Tahseen Bahar Shuchona was elected mayor of Comilla City Corporation in on Saturday’s by-polls while former mayor Ekramul Haque Titu won in the Mymensingh City Corporation (MCC) election.
Shuchona, daughter of Comilla-6 (Sadar) lawmaker and president of Comilla city unit Awami League (AL) AKM Baha Uddin Bahar, became victorious with Bus symbol, defeating her nearest rival Monirul Hoque Sakku by 21,993 votes. Sakku, who contested in the by-polls under the Table Clock symbol, got 26, 897 votes.
As a result, Shuchona became the first ever female mayor of the city.
Farhad Hossain, the returning officer, announced the unofficial results of the elections on Saturday evening at the Zilla School auditorium in the city.
Nizam Uddin Kaiser (Horse), former president of Comilla city unit Swechhasebak Dal, got 13,155 votes.
Noor ur Rahman Mahmud Tanim, a candidate with the Elephant symbol, got 5,173 votes.
The voting took place in 105 centres across 27 wards.
Shuchona is also the organizing secretary of Comilla city unit Awami League.
In Mymensingh, Ekramul Haque Titu became mayor for the second time by bagging 138,604 votes.
Returning Officer Mohammad Belayet Hossain Chowdhury announced the result at 10:30pm.
A total of five candidates contested in the election. Among the rest, district AL leader Sadekul Haq Khan bagged 35,763, district AL President Ehtesamul Alam 10,773, independent candidate Rezaul Haque 1,487 and Jatiya Party nominated candidate Shahidul Islam got 1,321 votes.
His nearest rival district Awami League advisor Sadekul Haque Khan (Elephant) got 19,087 votes.
Besides, District Awami League president Ehtesamul Alam (Horse) got 6,077 votes.
Meanwhile, Independent candidate agriculturist Rezaul Haque (Deer) got 825 votes and Jatiya Party candidate Shahidul Islam (Plough) got 615 votes.
Meanwhile, a youth named Hridoy Bhuiyan (25) was killed in a clash during by-election to a ward under Pirojpur Union Parishad in Sonargaon, Narayanganj. Another youth named Farooq was injured in the clash which took place at Dudhghata around 7pm.
Terming elections free, fair and peaceful, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal on Saturday said that voting was held in 231 local government elections including Mymensingh and Comilla City. Most were by-elections.
Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were used in both the city corporation polls.
The CEC said: “The elections started at 8am and ended peacefully. There were a few unpleasant incidents in some places. Some 53 individuals were arrested in 18 unpleasant incidents. There were a couple of significant incidents in Comilla.
“There is no allegation that there was any interference in the election,” he added.
Election Commissioner Md Anisur Rahman said: “The voting was peaceful. In Comilla, every candidate has exerted more or less strength (Muscle power). There have been incidents of obstruction in going to the polling station. There have been incidents of shootings and stabbings.
“Law enforcement was directed to arrest those involved. We asked them to arrest whoever is found involved. Later, law enforcement took control of the situation, and we have not received any more complaints,” he said.
The election commissioner informed that as of 3pm in Comilla, about 35% of votes were cast for the mayor’s position, which is expected to increase after the final count at 4pm.
Election Commissioner Md Alamgir said: “As of 3:30pm, the voter turnout in the Mymensingh City Corporation election for the mayor’s position was 49%. We wanted a peaceful and fair election. The incidents that happened outside the polling stations are common in the context of Bangladesh. Compared to that, it’s negligible. Overall, we can say the voting was peaceful.”
