People’s Mandate against the Misrule of fascist BNP Jamat Alliance Government

Amidst report of violence, booth capturing, false vote casting, intimidation of voters, sudden discontinuation of announcement of election results, the people of Chittagong had given an overwhelming mandate to the Awami League backed Nagorik committee mayoral candidate A.B.M.Mohiuddin Chowdhury. He was challenged by the ruling Alliance candidate, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin. The landslide victory of Mohiuddin on 9 May 2005 has bestowed on him the enviable status of becoming the Mayor of the Port city for a historic third time.

All the evil designs to snatch away the victory of incumbent Mayor Mohiuddin by the masterminds of the Election engineering mechanism were foiled by the people who came in thousands to keep vigil overnight around the office of the Returning Officer’s Control Room. The voters have spoken their mind by giving Mohiuddin an emphatic win over his rival ruling Alliance candidate Mir Nasir. The ruling Alliance made every effort to win the election. Scores of BNP Jamat MPs, more than a dozen of high profile ministers and even the son of Prime Minster and Senior Joint Secretary of BNP Tareq Zia (who runs a parallel government from Hawa Bhaban) flew in to campaign for Mir Nasir. In order to influence the election the ruling Alliance misused government machinery, civil administration, police force and partisan CBA leaders. The cadres of BNP and Jamat student wings - JCD and Chatra Shibir-imported hoodlums from outside and brought truckloads of false voters. But the brave people of Chittagong gave their clear verdict against the misrule of the fascist BNP Jamat Alliance by re-electing the incumbent mayor Mohiuddin with a huge lead of around one lakh votes. The landslide victory of Mohiuddin proved that the people did not waver from their resolve to choose their own Mayor defying pressure or intimidation from the high and the mighty.

While congratulating A B M Mohiuddin and the people of Chittagong Former Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina MP said “the verdict is against the sheer failure of the Alliance government in every sphere. It is people’s spontaneous response to hardships perpetrated by the Alliance government such as price hike of essential commodities, criminal activities of Alliance cadres and law enforcing authorities under the junta and evils of politicization of administration”.

From the very beginning and since the announcement of the CCC Mayoral election schedule the ruling party high ups knew that without election engineering it would be simply impossible to sway the results in their favour. As the results came in from the polling centers to the Control Room of the Returning Officer it appeared that Mayor Mohiuddin was leading handily. At that time all of a sudden the announcement of the results was halted and people suspected foul play. On the one hand people in their thousands virtually lay siege to the Control Room demanding announcement of results; while on the other hand the leaders of Nagorik Committee gathered vote statistics from their polling agents at different centers indicating a resounding win for incumbent Mayor Mohiuddin. After 10 pm, as the news of suspension of election results spread, the entire area around the Control Room turned into a sea of humanity as thousands more from far and wide came in processions and protested the dilly-dallying in the announcement of election results. Thus the people of Chittagong foiled all conspiracies and behind the scene manipulations to snatch away the election results. Mohiuddin was there with the crowd and pacified his supporters and vowed not to go home till the final results of the election were announced.

The Central leaders of Awami League were very concerned by the sudden stoppage of the announcement of election results. They were reminded of the notorious “media coup” of 1986 when a halt in results announcement manufactured an unexpected result. Led by the Awami League Secretary General Abdul Jalil they went to the office of the Election Commission at Dhaka and requested the officials to expedite announcement of the results. The EC tried to contact the Returning Officer in Chittagong but all communication with the Control Room in Chittagong was snapped for a while. The leaders stayed there overnight apprehending mischief but no responsible official of the Election Commission were present there. Meanwhile in Chittagong people’s fury subsided as the Returning Officer resumed declaring the election results after one and a half hours. Finally after a long wait of 14 hours when the Returning Officer declared Mohiuddin as the Mayor, thousands of people burst into joy and scenes of jubilation overtook the city in the morning hours of 10 May. The port city turned into a human sea as people celebrated victory by dancing, chanting slogans, honking horns and sprinkling colored water.

CHARISMATIC LEADER MOHIUDDIN AND PEOPLE’S REJECTION OF TARIQ ZIA’s EMOTIONAL APPEAL

Charismatic leader incumbent Mayor and General Secretary of Chittagong Awami League Alhajj ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury is the first Mayor of the country’s six city corporations who has been voted for three consecutive terms in the much publicized crucial election held on May 9, 2005. Although it was a local government election, it assumed the political dimension of a national event with the ruling Alliance mobilizing all its high profile Ministers and dozens of law makers for the extravagant election campaign. They had put in all their force except that the BNP Party Chief and Prime Minister Khaleda Zia herself did not go for a campaign appearance.

Dozens of MPs and all the star Ministers including LGRD Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and ealso the most powerful Alliance leader, the son of Prime Minister and Senior Joint Secretary of BNP, Tareq Zia could not sway the public vote to a majority for Mir Nasir. Tareq Zia projected Mir Nasir as the candidate of Zia family as opposed to the Nagorik Committee candidate Mohiuddin. His appeal on behalf of Zia family and invoking the memory of his late father Ziaur Rahman’s participation in the Liberation War in Chittagong and also his assassination there (Zia was killed in Chittagong Circuit house) did not arouse the type of sympathetic public reaction they thought it would. The leaders of the Alliance also followed the tactics of intimidation of voters by their speech and gestures. The strategy of conducting a gorgeous and high profile election campaign failed to pay any dividend, rather the extravagant spending drew adverse notice. In the campaign too much dependence of Mir Naisr on Jamat activism and conspiracy and intra party squabbles went against him. At the end of the day BNP-Jamat tactics appeared to be an exercise in futility. The voters of the city had already made up their mind to reject the ruling junta in favour of their successful Mayor Mohiuddin. In the 2001 election Chittagong seemingly voted for the Alliance and in all the three seats covered by the City the Alliance registered overwhelming victory. Chittagong got a number of Ministers but the welfare of the port city was grossly neglected by Khaleda-Nizami government. The landslide victory of Mohiuddin can be termed as the triumph of people’s power. They have won a victory against tyranny, terrorism, misdeeds and misrule of the fascist BNP Jamat Alliance government. They have severely reprimanded the indifference towards development of the port city by the Alliance government. They have rejected the religious bigotry of anti-liberation forces such as Jamat.

The historic win of Nagorik Committee candidate Mohiuddin is seen as an acknowledgement of his commendable achievements during his two terms as the Mayor of CCC. Personal image was a profound factor in this election and on this count the Alliance candidate was a poor challenger. Known to be arrogant, rude and detached from the people Mir Nasir was no match for Mohiuddin, the firebrand activist and down to earth politician of the port city. By re-electing Mohiuddin the people of Chittagong extended their support to his role in improving living conditions in Chittagong. His achievements in provision of healthcare, spread of education, cleanliness and sanitation measures and upgrading communication and transport in the city during the last 11 years are phenomenal. In the true tradition of Awami League he is reputed for his pro-people attitude and his record in social work. He won the hearts of people by initiating different kinds of motivational programmes in health care services, especially for safe motherhood and childcare. He set up community clinics in almost all wards. He opened opportunities for higher education for all children of merit in the city. Unhindered by step-motherly treatment from the Alliance government he found resources for his social investment programmes from commercial operations and profitable investments of the City Corporation. He won accolades for his tireless work for people’s welfare and was adjudged the best Mayor in Asia.

Though a front ranking leader of Awami League, Mohiuddin was backed by Nagorik Committee, a platform of all progressive opposition parties and cross sections of the civil society. This paved the way for other smaller parties and non partisan people to join his election campaign. His election was a contest between the BNP-Jamat Alliance on the one side and the people on the other side.

Yes it was a civic body election but its timing and the way it was conducted gave it the flavour of a national election. It was at a time when the misrule of the Alliance is under fire at home and abroad. Never before in recent history a mayoral election was fought in such a high pitched environment, in such a high profile manner and with such active participation of leaders of all political parties in the campaign.

This election also laid bare the many flaws of the electoral process and the say of the ruling authority in derailing an election. There are lessons on how politicization of the police force and the district civil administration can frustrate a neutral election. There are further lessons on the vulnerability of the EC and its authority over election officers. How electoral integrity can be the victim of the machinations of the national government is a serious issue that calls for careful scrutiny. It is the overall political environment that has the most telling impact on the fairness or otherwise of an election.

ELECTION MARRED BY IRREGULARITIES

Ministers violate election code

A large number of Ministers who turned up to campaign for Mir Nasir violated electoral code of conduct as they enjoyed all government protocol during their stay in Chittagong including using national flag mounted vehicles, staying in circuit house or official rest houses and enjoying police escort. They even made development promises seeking votes for Mir Nasir in the campaign. They made remarks such as “if Mohiuddin is voted the people of Chittagong would be deprived of development.” The use of walkie talkies by dozens of ministers on election duty to manipulate results was another gross violation of electoral code.

Religious minorities intimidated

Religious minorities faced threats and intimidation from BNP-Jamat Alliance men ahead of CCC Mayoral election. Campaigners for the Alliance candidate threatened voters in minority areas and asked them to desist from going to the polling centers. Their target was to keep away the one hundred and fifty thousand minority voters from exercising their franchise as they are considered a vote bank for Awami League.

Outsiders brought in to rig polls

It was reported that as many as 60 to 70 thousand outsiders had been hired in the last few days before the polls from neighbouring districts and outside the city by Jamat and its student front Chatra Shibir to cast false votes for Mir Nasir. Hordes of youth from outside the city were kept at the dormitories of colleges, polytechnic institute and madrassas.

Cops crack down on Mohiuddin’s supporters

On the eve of election day police clamped down on Awami League and Nagorik Committee strongholds in the port city. Informed sources said police started raid on houses of Mohiuddin’s supporters having sway over voters. Arrest of his followers were made to instill fear among the supporters of incumbent Mayor Mohiuddin to manipulate the polls.

Harassment by Chittagong Police Chief and his withdrawal

The Chittagong Metropolitan Police Commissioner had to be withdrawn as Election Commission found that he had failed to discharge his duties impartially and for his unashamed political attachment in the run-up to the CCC elections. The EC order came in the wake of allegation by Nagorik Committee that CMP commissioner was harassing their workers and favouring the ruling Alliance candidate. He also violated the electoral code by escorting and providing police protection to Mir Nasir after the schedule of election was announced.

Unfit, mentally retarded, ruling party backed CBA leaders hired as Polling agents

The judgment of the Returning Officer to appoint cleaner, gardener, peon, messenger, ayah and a host of fourth class employees of semi government organizations and some ruling party backed CBA men as well as some mentally impaired persons as Polling officers came under fierce criticism from all quarters. Officers working directly under the State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mir Nasir, who was a mayoral candidate, were appointed as magistrates on election duty.

Mohiuddin’s Centre bombed

Nagorik committee candidate Mohiuddin’s center came under bomb attack when voters were casting their votes around 11:30 am. Two persons were injured there. His son was physically assaulted while his daughter could not cast her vote. Meanwhile Mir Nasir’s hooligans rigged polls in many centers and drove away Mohiuddin’s polling agents from 24 centres as reported in the media. Chatra Shibir men escorted a large number of youth to polling booths giving them voter slips in areas known to be Jamat stronghold to cast false vote. Impotent Election Commission

The EC ordered withdrawal of the Police Commissioner from Chittagong but he was due to be back there on 10 May. So he continued to exercise influence there in Chittagong. The EC ordered restoration of some old polling centers but the RO did not abide by the orders on the plea that they were issued too late. The EC ordered removal of low grade employees and others from election duties but they functioned as Polling officers on the election day.

Hijacking Election Verdict

It seems that as returns from polling centers revealed clear trend for victory of Mayor Mohiuddin an attempt was made to steal the election. For inexplicable reasons announcement of results was held up for one and a half hour by the Returning Officer. But for the vigilance of the electorate the results could be doctored to turn the table against Mohiuddin.

CONCLUSION

First of all the people of Chittagong deserves the nation’s congratulations for ensuring a fair election against serious odds. Second, congratulations are richly due to ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury for his service to Chittagong and putting together people’s coalition for the election. We wish the full implementation of his Forty Point Manifesto. Next the civil administration and the security forces warrant our appreciation for bringing to a fair conclusion a reasonably honest election despite such immense pressure from the ruling junta of the Four party Alliance. Finally, the irregularities and pitfalls that the election encountered were disgraceful and deliberate. They occurred because the government at Dhaka wanted to win the election by hook or by crook. The record of the government in rigging election needs no recounting and it has done everything possible to destroy the integrity of civil administration in the districts and criminalize the police force. In order to improve the environment for a fair and proper election there is no alternative to a universally acceptable caretaker government, a competent and powerful EC and tight ground rules and procedures for fair election.

Newsletter _______________________
Vol. 4. No. 5. 16 May, 2005
Bangladesh Awami League Publication