There will be massive voter turnout: Ishraque Hossain
Ishraque Hossain, son of Dhaka city’s former mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka, is contesting in the Dhaka South City Corporation mayoral polls to be held on 1 February. In an interview with Prothom Alo, he speaks about the election and the overall situation, the campaigning and his thoughts concerning the city.
Prothom Alo: Barrister Fazle Noor Taposh has said his contest with you will be a competitive one. Are you apprehensive of rigging in the election, or will it be free and fair?
Ishraque Hossain: Being a competitive election and being a fair one are two different things. I don’t know how far the word ‘apprehensive’ applies here, because there will certainly be attempts to rig the election. The election commission at present does not have the capacity to hold a fair election under a party government. All state institutions have been politicised and damaged.
Prothom Alo: If that is so, why bother to contest in the election?
Ishraque Hossain: Because we believe in democracy. We are in a movement with the people to reestablish democracy. I am in this election as part of that movement. We will do all that is to be done in order to establish people’s right to vote on the day of the election.
Prothom Alo: How far has the election code of conduct been violated and incidents of violence taken place?
Ishraque Hossain: There are at least 10 such incidents. On the day that the election symbols were being allocated, plainclothesmen picked up the Bangshal thana BNP president and councillor candidate, locked him in a hotel room in Motijheel for two hours and then arrested him. They produced a warrant later on. When the matter was brought up at the election commission (EC ) meeting, they said that arrests can’t be made for old cases.
Then again, the people and the media are always asking why our posters are not visible anywhere. Councillor candidates, party leaders and activists are constantly under attack. I went to the Wari police station when the elderly councilor candidate Haji Liakat Ali was assaulted and his head was injured. I won’t even bother to explain the attitude of the office-in-charge (OC) there. If you came a few hours ago (1am), you would have seen one of our party photographers of Dhaka South with his head in stitches. A few days ago he had been taking pictures of our posters being torn down and so was attacked and hit on the head with a cleaver. In Bangshal an innocent rickshaw-puller was attacked while his rickshaw was being used for campaigning over loudspeaker and the party election camp there was ransacked.
Prothom Alo: You complained to the EC, what did they do? How have you responded to the attack?
Ishraque Hossain: Documented proof with photographs was submitted to the EC, but no action was taken. There is no question of us retaliating or striking back. We have chosen the democratic way of protest. I have told the leaders and workers to adhere to the law. We will not take the law into our own hands. I went to the EC a couple of times but now have stopped going. When I spoke to the chief election commissioner (CEC), he told me to meet the returning officer. But nothing was done. Certain senior police officers were helpful. When I approached them about some activists being arrested for no reason, they had them released.
Prothom Alo: How many areas are risky?
Ishraque Hossain: Personally I had felt that only Kamrangirchar was risky, nowhere else. I am a Dhaka boy, why should I fear? I took a convoy of cars to Kamrangirchar and informed the police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in advance. They deployed a security post to ensure that no untoward incident took place. When the miscreants saw the huge crowds in our favour, they fled.
Prothom Alo: The two parties have a long-standing enmity. But both of you candidates have western education. Has that had an impact on the campaigning?
Ishraque Hossain: I believe in addressing everyone with respect, respecting my seniors. I learnt that from my family, not from my western education. As for campaigning, from an engineer’s point of view, I regularly research about urban planning, urban management and so on. Waste management and road management of the world’s big cities are my fields of interest. I have released a video on a common utility tunnel which will cut down in roads being dug up.
Prothom Alo: Have you faced any personal attack from your opponent, as is very common in our culture?
Ishraque Hossain: No, not really. I met with Fazle Noor Taposh for the first time on the day that our symbols were being allocated. We were sitting in our seats and he reached forward to shake hands. He said, your father loved me a lot. I was aware of that too because while my father was mayor, he was a member of parliament too for some time. On YouTube you can see them together at a press conference. He is my senior, I salaam him and exchange greetings. His cousin, (Naziur Rahman Manju’s youngest son Wasiq) is my close friend. In that sense, I address him as my elder brother. And the mention of my father immediately created a soft spot within me for him. My opponent could be anyone and it is my duty to respect him and have a sporting attitude. Neither has he attacked me during his campaign speeches, nor have I him. In an hour-and-a-half talk show, we discussed issues in a congenial atmosphere.
Prothom Alo: For the first time in this 400-year-old city Dhaka, votes will be cast on EVM and in presence of two army officers. Will this create a stronger sense of security?
Ishraque Hossain: In the parliamentary election we saw the use of 6 EVMs. As far as we heard from the EC, there will be no one in army uniform or no armed personnel there. They will be in the booth in plainclothes. So this won’t have that impact on security. And the bottom line is, it is the person behind the machine that matters. The machine will perform as programmed. The software has been made by the army-run Machine and Tools factory, though a returning officer told me it was made in Germany. The EC says it is made here. So the matter is not clear. There is no scope for recount. The main thing is that if the polling centre is taken over forcefully, the EVM won’t matter. The EVM will only work if the election is conducted by a neutral person. In Bangladesh, it will be of no use under a partisan person.
Prothom Alo: Is there any provision for recounting in the law?
Ishraque Hossain: We have raised the issue of recounting, but the legal aspect hasn’t been looked into, which is important.
Prothom Alo: What are the successes or failures of the outgoing mayor Sayeed Khokan?
Ishraque Hossain: I will refrain from comment about this.
Prothom Alo: Fazle Noor Taposh has put forward certain plans…
Ishraque Hossain: I do not see anything new in his plans. Everyone is aware of the problems of traffic congestion, garbage disposal and the water logging. I have spoken about new ideas for Dhaka city’s problems, plans used in the big cites of the world. For example, a utility tunnel will be a square box culvert rather than a round pipe. And garbage will be placed in close containers and made into compact blocks under pressure. These can then be used in biogas plants.
Prothom Alo: If you are installed in Nagar Bhaban as mayor, will you cut down on the celebrations of Bangabandhu’s birth centenary?
Ishraque Hossain: No, why would I do that? He is the main leader of our liberation war, though later he created BKSAL. I will not do that and I hope the celebrations of Ziaur Rahman’s birthday will not be cut short either.
Prothom Alo: What percentage of voter turnout do you expect?
Ishraque Hossain: I cannot give any specific figure, but our decision is to ensure the highest turnout as possible at the voting centres. No matter what happens at the centres, our activists and supporters will turn up in huge numbers to vote.
Prothom Alo: Thank you.
Ishraque Hossain: Thank you.
*This interview, originally published in Prothom Alo print edition, has been rewritten in English by Ayesha Kabir.