Ctg polls: Both govt and Opposition see 'success'
The just-held election to the Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) has triggered multi-dimensional reactions in the opposing political camps and the Election Commission as well.
Holding of the CCC polls defying resistance by the opposition parties has reaffirmed the ruling party's plan to go ahead with Upazila elections.
The CCC polls were held on Monday amid extraordinary security measures with a low turnout of voters due to Opposition campaign against the polls.
Elections to three other city corporations in Dhaka, Khulna and Rajshahi, now pending for cases in court, can also be held despite the opposition threat to resist those, a section of Awami League leaders think.
Still, the AL would continue efforts to ensure Opposition participation in local body elections and support the Speaker's initiative for a government-Opposition negotiation.
But the BNP-led opposition alliance is determined to continue boycotting all polls under the present government and intensify street agitation to oust the Hasina government.
The Opposition leaders however claimed successes in their campaign against the CCC polls which, they said, made it 'unacceptable to all'.
"The CCC election was stage-managed and a total farce. It was so farcical that no observer team agreed to monitor it. By no standard, it can be called an election," said BNP Vice-chairman M. Shamsul Islam.
Islam, an influential leader in the four-party opposition alliance, refused to accept that the Opposition failed to resist the CCC polls. He rather claimed that people rejected the polls, responding to their call. He termed the election results the outcome of a 'government-sponsored media coup'.
"We boycotted the municipal polls and the by-polls under the present Election Commission and the government... We're determined to resist the Upazila and city corporation polls, too, " he said and ruled out any possibility of a government-Opposition understanding on the crucial local body polls.
Influential AL leader and Food Minister Amir Hossain Amu viewed that the low turnout in CCC polls was because of "threats and other terrorist activities" by opposition parties, not because of their campaign against the polls.
"Terrorism can not be called a campaign or agitation. The Opposition failed to stop people from casting votes despite their so-called curfew hartal. People cast votes. Their number would have been more had there been no Opposition-sponsored terrorism.
"They could have allowed people their freedom and test their popularity. But unfortunately they opted for the path of terrorism in the name of agitation.
"Yes, we think, we can go ahead with other local body polls including that to Upazilas after the successful holding of CCC polls in which the people have rejected the Opposition stance," he said.
To a question, Amu said, "We'll continue our attempts to bring the agitating Opposition back to election politics. But an understanding is possible only if the Opposition is sincere about it. We're always for negotiated settlement of all political disputes."
Meanwhile, the Election Commission is now busy evaluating the outcome of the CCC polls before its move for holding the Upazila elections.
Acting Chief Election Commissioner Moshtaq Ahmed Choudhury declined to comment on the CCC polls.
Talking to The Daily Star last night, Choudhury said the Commission was still evaluating the polls. "We sent a team to oversee the (CCC) polls but the team is yet to submit its final report. I'm not in a position to comment until the report is thoroughly examined."
He replied in the negative when asked if there was any possibility of announcing the Upazila polls schedule before the Eid,. "As I said earlier, the Commission will decide about the Upazila polls after seeing the outcome of the CCC polls."
Choudhury denied that there was a plan to announce UZ polls schedule yesterday, as reported in a section of the press. But an EC source said that the schedule was 'almost ready' but it went under 'further scrutiny' after the CCC polls.
About elections to three other city corporations, the acting CEC said those will depend on the court verdict.
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