People want fair and peaceful NCC polls

The questions as to whether the Narayanganj city residents will be able to cast their votes without any fear and how will Nurul Huda Commission fare in their last days, loom large not only among the voters but also among the people at large. Nurul Huda commission’s tenure will end on 15 February. Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) is going to the polls next Sunday. The question remains about the possibility of a good election due to the inefficiency and irresponsibility shown by the commission under Nurul Huda in conducting polls in the last five years.

But the experience of past NCC elections from 2011 onwards leads us to believe that holding a free, fair and peaceful election is not impossible in Narayanganj. This belief can be buttressed by the fact that no untoward incident took place in Narayanganj during the election campaign trail of the candidates in the last three weeks. This is, however, not the credit of the election commission. Local political leaders, especially the candidates deserve credit for this. They concentrated on their own campaign and shunned hurling any opprobrious remarks towards their rivals—which is a rare practice in Bangladesh’s politics.

Although seven candidates are contesting in the polls, Awami League nominated candidate and mayor of the last two terms Selima Hayat Ivy and former BNP leader Taimur Alam Khandakar are the main contender. Taimur is contesting as an independent candidate as BNP is not taking part in the polls. Ivy defeated Shamim Osman by a margin of over 100,000 votes in 2011. That election was not held under party symbol. As an AL candidate, Ivy beat BNP’s Sakhawat Hossain in the 2016 election. No questions arose centring those two polls.

People of Narayanganj expect this election too to be a free, fair and credible one. Both Ivy and Taimur also hoped the election would be fair and transparent. They, however, expressed some apprehensions. Ivy feared of clashes at voting centres while Taimur accused the ruling party leaders of trying to influence the election. He alleged that law enforcers are arresting his supporters and raiding their houses.

We think the apprehensions of both candidates must be taken into consideration. The election commission cannot remain silent spectators. Why did not the law enforcers take action against Taimur’s men, if they are accused in cases, before the announcement of polls schedule? Arresting or raiding political workers after the polls schedule is an old trick to influence an election. We expect EC’s intervention regarding this. On the other hand, Ivy’s fear of violence at polling centres must be taken seriously. The EC must remain strict about such incidents. The people want to see a fair and peaceful election in Narayanganj.