AL wins by-polls in Mymensingh

Awami League candidates Jewel Areng and Nazim Uddin Ahmed were elected lawmakers through the by-election in Mymensingh-1 (Haluaghat and Dhobaura) and Mymensingh-3 (Gouripur) constituencies respectively.

Jewel, son of immediate past lawmaker of that constituency Promod Mankin and member of Haluaghat upazila AL, got 1,70,234 votes out of the total 3,62,694, while Nazim bagged 1,19,438 votes out of 2,26,235. Nazim is a vice president of the district AL and a freedom fighter.

In the by-polls, no major incidents of violence and irregularities were reported.

However, three candidates of Mymensingh-3 boycotted the poll halfway into the voting brining allegations of electoral irregularities and ballot box stuffing by AL men.

Three candidates contested in Mymensingh-1 -- one from AL, another from Jatiya Party and the other independent. In Mymensingh-3, there were five candidates -- from AL, JP, Islami Oikya Jote, and NAP. One was independent.

In the morning, as the polling started, there was a thin presence of voters at most voting centres, but turnout slowly increased in the later part of the day.

Rainfall and lack of public interest contributed to the low turnout in the morning, said local people and election officials.

Around 51.29 percent of votes were cast in Mymensingh-1, and 56.11 percent in Mymensingh-3, said election officials.

The EC suspended voting at one polling station due to irregularities, said its officials. 

Mymensingh-1 seat became vacant due to the death of lawmaker and former state minister for social welfare Promod Mankin on May 11, while Mymensingh-3 fell vacant after the death of lawmaker and former state minister for health Mujibur Rahman Fakir on May 2.

Visiting around half a dozen polling centres in Mymensingh-3 in the morning, the correspondent found the centres almost empty. A similar situation prevailed in polling centres under Mymensingh-1.

Talking to The Daily Star, Marjina Akhter, upazila nirbahi officer of Gouripur said that due to bad weather, the presence of voters was low but after the weather conditions improved, the number of voters increased.

BOYCOTT

Main opposition JP's Shamsuzzaman Jamal, Islamic Oikya Jote's Abu Taher Khan and independent candidate Azizul Haque of Mymensingh-3 boycotted the polls in separate press conferences.

Talking to the press at Gouripur upazila headquarters around 12:00pm, Shamsuzzaman Jamal alleged that supporters of AL candidate Nazim Uddin Ahmed ousted his polling agents from at least 35 polling centres out of 87.

Law enforcers remained silent, though the irregularities happened in front of them, he alleged.

Talking to reporters in Kaltapara Bazar area around 2:00pm, Azizul Haque said AL men ousted his polling agents from all 87 centres.

Abu Taher Khan was talking to reporters in front of a polling centre in Bhagnabari area at around 2:300pm. He also brought similar allegation against AL men.

The UNO dismissed the allegations as untrue. BNP did not take part in the elections.