Dhaka South City Corporation mayor Sayeed Khokon today said all the temporary election camps set up during the 11th national polls will be removed within the quickest possible time.

The Mayor said this while inaugurating removal work of makeshift election camps at Segunbagicha in the city on Saturday.

Sayeed Khokon said that earlier instruction was given to remove all election-related posters, banners, and other campaign materials within next 48 hours. Most of them were removed by this time while some are still visible in differed areas of the city, he said.

"If you see any poster, banner or festoon on flyover or in any other place then you will inform us to keep the city clean," Khokon said.

"We want to remove all the temporary election camps so that people can walk freely on pavements and we can keep our city clean," he added.

Four university students remain missing since they were allegedly picked up by plainclothes men in the capital's Farmgate area on Saturday, the day before national election.

Their families yesterday held a press conference at Crime Reporters' Association Bangladesh, demanding safe return of the youths.

The missing are: Abu Khaled Mohammad Jabed, 25, a third year student of Bangla at Asian University; Borhan Uddin, 26, English student at Stamford University; Rezaul Khalek, 24, final year student of Pharmacy at Manarat University; and Syed Maminul Hasan, 27, former student of a Unani Ayurvedic Medical College.

“We are very anxious about their fate, as we have been out of contact with them for two days,” said Jabed's brother-in-law Yeasin Karim at the press conference.

He urged law enforcers to rescue the youths or to produce them before the court if they were detained for any crime.

Some plainclothes men identifying themselves as law enforcers dragged them out of a bus in Farmgate on their way home in Mirpur-1 after shopping at Aziz Super Market, Yeasin said quoting a friend of theirs who was also in the bus but escaped detention.

“We contacted local police stations and other wings of law enforcement agencies but all denied picking Jabed up,” he said.

The families drew attention of national and international human rights organisations to be vocal for their release.

Contacted, Abdul Baten, additional commissioner (detectives) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said they did not detain the youths.

Mufti Mahmud Khan, Rab's Legal and Media wing director also said they did not carry out any drive in Farmgate on that day.

The national election of December 30 has turned the life of Mofiz Uddin upside down -- and all for supporting BNP.

From a decent tea-shop vendor at Rabeya market of Bonkishore village in Rajshahi's Tanore upazila, the 48-year old man now works on a potato field.

“I have been a dedicated BNP worker since the 90s,” Mofiz said. “If I have committed a crime, it would be my engagement with BNP.”

In a tin-roofed earthen room under a Koroi tree at the market, Mofiz started the shop and ran it for over the last 20 years.

Furnished with a television, eight chairs, five tables, four benches and a few racks of bakery items, sweets and groceries, his tea-shop fetched him around Tk 3,000 a day to support his family of seven.

On December 21, Mofiz joined the election campaign for BNP candidate Aminul Haq when the latter went to Pachondor union.

Later that evening, a group of stick wielding men went to the market and ransacked the outside of his tea-shop, according to eye-witnesses.

“The attackers were outsiders, not known to me,” said a local businessman.

“I heard about the attack on my shop when I reached home, after campaigning that day,” said Mofiz. A friend of his called him from the market and told him to hide as the attackers were looking for him.

Until polls day, local AL men used the tea-shop as the election office of Awami League candidate Omor Faruk Chowdhury.

“Two days after the election ended, some local AL workers damaged what was left of the shop, including the earthen room, tin-roof, furniture, television, and everything else inside.”

Locals told this correspondent that they heard the AL men would build a party office in that place.

When contacted, Reaz Uddin, president of AL unit at Pachondor ward-2, said, “We are yet to decide on building our office there. If not an office, we may construct a passengers' shed that will come to the use of many.”

He said the land was 'khas' and Mofiz had been illegally occupying it.

On the identity of the attackers, he said, “Nobody knows them. They were wearing helmets and came to the village on motorcycles.”

He denied that it was local AL men who had damaged the shop after the election.

“It was Mofiz's brother, nephew and son who damaged the shop,” he said. On why Mofiz's own relatives would damage the shop, Reaz did not have an explanation.

When contacted, Rajshahi Superintendent of Police Md Shahidullah said they had not heard about the incident.

“We will investigate all allegations of post-election violence,” said the SP, adding that police circulated a message in the district so that no one would spread fear among others over feuds during the election.

Upon losing his source of income, Mofiz began work as day labourer on the potato fields to make ends meet, earning a mere Tk 300 a day.

“I am living in fear. I could not even go see the condition of my shop, the one I so dearly built from scratch,” he said. 

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader today said the process to form the new government is likely to be completed by January 10.

Obaidul Quader came up with the information while talking to reporters after placing wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu in front of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi in the city, marking Awami League's landslide victory in the 11th national elections.

He also said the gazette notification will be published within one to two days and then the newly elected members of parliament will be sworn in.

"After the oath taking, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will meet the President. Then, the President will request the Prime Minister to form the government," he added.

"It is the concern of the Election Commission. Everything will be done according to the constitution. If any candidate fails to take oath, the election commission will arrange necessary steps according to the constitution. A new schedule will be announced for a by-election to the constituency," he said while answering a question about Oikyafront's decision not to take the oath.

Quader said, "I still believe they (Oikyafront) will not disobey the verdict of the country's people. Earlier, they made a mistake by boycotting the 2014 election. Whether they are satisfied or dissatisfied, it's their party matter. But those who have been elected this time will not show disrespect to the people's verdict by not taking oath."

"Many democratic countries have started congratulating Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. If they do not participate in the democratic process, democracy will not be halted for them," he added.

Meanwhile, the senior Awami League urged the party's leaders, activists and supporters not to be revengeful to the opposition and behave carefully.

In the first parliament 45 years ago, none of the parties was recognised as official opposition due to their poor strength in the House.

The resounding victory of ruling Awami League-led alliance in Sunday's polls has diminished the scope for emergence of an official opposition in the new parliament.

The AL-led alliance together grabbed 288 seats out of 298 with the ruling party alone bagging 259 seats. The BNP-led alliance managed to secure only seven seats. [Election to Gaibandha-3 was rescheduled to January 27 following the death of a candidate and re-polling will take place in three centres in Brahmanbaria-2 on January 9.]

Against this backdrop, Jatiya Party may sit on the opposition bench in the new parliament to be formed with MPs-elect swearing in tomorrow.

The JP, a key component of the AL-led grand electoral alliance, emerged as the second largest party by obtaining 20 seats.

It needs at least five more to get official recognition as the opposition, according to the verbal directive given by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during a debate in the first parliament on April 12, 1973.

In the first parliamentary election held in 1973, the AL won 293 seats. The opposition parties -- Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Bangladesh Jatiya League, National Awami Party and others obtained only seven seats.

They extended their support to Jatiya League leader Ataur Rahman Khan and demanded that he be recognised as the leader of the   opposition.   

During the debate over recognition as opposition, Bangabandhu said a party could not be recognised as opposition if it did not have at least 25 MPs.

If any group has less than 25 MPs and at least 10 MPs, it can be termed a parliamentary group, not a parliamentary party, said Bangabandhu.

"The speech delivered by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the only directive," wrote Khandaker Abdul Haq in his book "Parliamentary Practice and Procedure" published by the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat in 2001.

"His directive has been derived from experiences of the Pakistan National Assembly and East Pakistan Provincial Assembly and it is consistent with the parliamentary culture of India and this sub-continent," wrote Haq, who was a senior official at the Parliament Secretariat.

If Bangabandhu's directive is taken into consideration, JP would need five more seats to qualify to become the opposition party in the new parliament. If JP is not the official opposition, none of its MPs could be the leader of the opposition.

The JP became the main opposition in the current parliament formed through the 2014 election, which the BNP-led alliance boycotted. It won 34 seats and its senior leader Raushan Ershad was recognised as the leader of the opposition with a status of a minister. Three JP MPs were also made ministers.

Their dual role has been criticised. The party could not play its due role as the main opposition in parliament in the last five years.

JP Secretary General Mashiur Rahman Ranga yesterday said his party would hold a joint meeting of the party's presidium members and MPs-elect today to decide whether it would join the government or sit on the opposition bench.

"We will also discuss it with the grand alliance," he said at a discussion at the party's Banani office.