Now party unity, voter turnout key challenges for AL

As the scheduled nomination collection and submission day for the upcoming Sylhet City Polls concluded yesterday, it seems that fate is on the side of the Awami League-nominated mayoral candidate.

No strong candidate is running the mayoral race against the AL-nominated candidate Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury.

In the city polls scheduled for June 21, the only scope of a hard contest for Anwaruzzaman was the incumbent BNP-backed mayor Ariful Haque Choudhury. However, on May 20, he withdrew himself from the contest as per party instructions.

With Ariful's exit, Jatiya Party candidate Nazrul Islam Babul and Islami Andolon Bangladesh candidate Mahmudul Hasan, along with eight other independent candidates, are left to compete with Anwaruzzaman.

However, Anwaruzzaman believes that the JP and IAB candidates are strong enough to give him a tight contest. "No candidate should be taken lightly," he said.

However, with no strong candidate to compete with Anwaruzzaman, concerns have been raised that the polls might see a low turnout of voters.

Almost all recent polls since 2020 are marred with low turnout, which experts blame on the growing public apathy towards democratic institutions.

In 2020, the voter turnout at the Dhaka South City Corporation polls was 29 percent, while the Dhaka North City polls saw a turnout of 25.32 percent.

In Sylhet-2 by-polls of September 4, 2021, where the AL-backed candidate defeated JP and BNP-rebel candidates, the voter turnout was 34.46 percent. The by-polls of Brahmanbaria-2, Bogura-4 and -6, and Chapainawabganj-2 and -3 also saw a similarly low turnout of voters.

However, Anwaruzzaman is confident that people will show up to vote.

"We have formed ward-level committees for publicity, who are working to encourage voters to cast their votes. Regardless of that, I don't think the polls will see a low turnout," he said.

Meanwhile, another challenge awaits Anwaruzzaman.

In the 2018 SCC polls, BNP candidate Ariful's win over AL candidate Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran was blamed on the betrayal of several AL leaders. Many mayoral nomination seekers within AL allegedly worked in favour of Ariful.

For the upcoming polls, at least eight prominent AL leaders were in the race for nomination while Anwaruzzaman, joint secretary of the UK unit of Awami League, was selected by the party. According to AL leaders and activists, keeping the party united might pose a challenge for Anwaruzzaman.

However, all mayoral nomination aspirants within the party have officially declared their unyielding support for Anwaruzzaman and are seen working with him to secure a win for the party.

"Awami League is a big political party and that is why there are many nomination aspirants. But I have seen their unconditional support in my campaign," he told this correspondent.

Meanwhile, Anwaruzzaman reportedly violated the instructions of the returning officer while submitting his nomination papers yesterday.

The instruction was not to bring more than five people while submitting the nomination paper to the returning officer's office. However, the AL candidate was accompanied by around a hundred people to the regional election office.

However, Anwaruzzaman denied the allegations.

"Hundreds were indeed present but I was only accompanied by five party members. The others were not with me," he said.