The same old face-off between AL and BNP in Dhaka, Chittagong city elections

Six million voters get to decide the outcome of a high-voltage battle of ballots between the ruling Awami League and its archrival BNP, as Dhaka and Chittagong city corporations go to polls today.

Along with the country's remaining 90 million voters, election observers and the international community will keep their eyes on the polls that are supposed to be non-partisan in nature.

Three mayors and 179 councillors will be elected through the polls, which are taking place amid fears of violence and intimidation despite tight security measures taken by the authorities for peaceful voting.

The elections will ensure that people have their representatives in the three local government bodies -- two city corporations in Dhaka and one in Chittagong.

In reality, the city corporations to be formed through people's mandates will not be able to solve many of the city dwellers' decades-long problems due to constraints of jurisdiction.

Yet, much heat has been generated in the run-up to the polls.

People's verdict today will have a huge impact on politics of the two archrivals in the coming days. The polls appear to be a referendum on their politics to an extent.

The ruling AL wants to prove its popularity by winning the mayoral battle. A win will give the party political mileage, as it came to power a year ago through a one-sided parliamentary election.

The policymakers in the AL and the government hope people will vote against the BNP-backed candidates for what they say is the party's violent street agitation for around three months since January.

With support from the party high command, the ruling party-blessed mayoral and councillor hopefuls have made extensive efforts to defeat their BNP-backed rivals. They dominated the three-week election campaigns. 

The situation in the BNP camp was the opposite.

The party stepped into the battle of ballots, postponing its three-month anti-government agitation that lost momentum because of violence.

BNP-backed mayoral and councillor aspirants couldn't carry out vigorous campaigns as many of them face criminal cases filed over street violence during anti-government agitation in the last three years. 

Party-endorsed mayoral aspirant in Dhaka south Mirza Abbas didn't appear in public even for a day during electioneering to avert arrest. His wife Afroza Abbas conducted campaigns throughout on his behalf.

Most of the BNP-blessed councillor aspirants refrained from taking part in campaigns for fear of arrest. 

Yet, the party hopes people will vote against the ruling party-endorsed candidates for its "misrule" and “denying people their voting rights” in the January 5 parliamentary election last year.

Encouraged by the results of the previous mayoral polls, the BNP high command is hopeful that the candidates they are backing will emerge victorious this time as well.

In 2013, the BNP-blessed candidates won all five mayoral posts in Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Barisal and Gazipur by defeating their AL-backed rivals.

In the Comilla city polls in 2012, the AL-backed mayoral aspirant had lost to the BNP-backed candidate. 

In another battle of ballots in 2010, the BNP-blessed candidate secured the mayoral post in Chittagong. 

In 2011, the AL backed mayoral aspirant suffered a humiliating defeat in the Narayanganj city polls. 

People are eagerly waiting to see who win the mayoral posts this time in the two major cities.

In Chittagong, BNP-blessed Manzur Alam seeks re-election as mayor. In the mayoral race in 2010, he defeated AL-backed candidate ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury who had been elected mayor thrice since 1994. 

The situation in Dhaka is interesting. The first election to undivided Dhaka City Corporation was held in 1994 and the second one in 2002. No election was held in the last eight years after the corporation's tenure expired in 2007. 

The government in 2011 split the DCC into two but there was no election.

Political analysts say the city polls appear as a test for both the government and the Election Commission.

If the city polls are held in a free and fair manner, the government can claim that a free and fair national election is possible under the AL-led government. 

The EC led by Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad will also be able to reap some benefits of a fair election though it has yet to demonstrate any sign of playing a strong role in holding a free and fair election.

If the opposite happens, it will give the opposition camp political mileage to voice its demand for a non-partisan government for holding the general election. 

Moreover, if the fairness of the election is called into question, the country may again experience political unrest. BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has already threatened to wage movement if the polls are not free and fair.