CCC Polls: Over 16 lakh voters ready to choose ‘father of port city’

By AKM Moinuddin

Chittagong, June 16 (UNB) - Chittagong, second largest city of the country and its principal port city, goes to the polls Thursday amid tight security to elect the ‘father’ of the country’s commercial capital, and the councilors he will work with for the next five years.
Nearly 16, 94,955 voters of the port city with a good number of young voters will choose a city father from two key contestants - ruling party backed Nagorik Committee candidate Alhaj ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury (ship) and opposition BNP-backed Chittagong Unnayan Andolon candidate Alhaj M Monzur Alam (pineapple).
Through Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) polls, Bangladesh will enter into the digital voting system on a limited scale - a step forward in the modernization of the country's electoral process after the preparation of voter list with photographs.
The non-stop eight-hour voting period will begin at 8:00am to elect a mayor, 41 ward councilors and 14 women ward councilors for reserved seats.
The government has declared a public holiday in the country's commercial capital to facilitate the polls, which are taking place after five years.
Ruling party-backed Nagorik Committee Candidate Mohiuddin was elected mayor for a third consecutive term in the year 2005 by defeating former state minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mir Mohammad Nasir Uddin when BNP was in power.
New voters, not less than 5.56 lakh of which nearly 90 percent represent the educated and technology-driven society, will likely be the key factor in the election. The number of voters during the last CCC polls held in 2005 was 11.38 lakh, which increased to 15, 78,782 ahead of the last parliamentary elections (2008). Later in 2009, the voter list of CCC was updated again, adding another 1.24 lakh fresh voters. Two key candidates vying for Mayor - ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury of ruling Awami League and Monzur Alam Monzu of BNP targeted the new voters during their just-concluded campaign. Mohiddin, a three-time Mayor already, used digital technology during his election campaign to attract the young voters.
Meanwhile, the district election commission has completed its preparations for introducing the electronic voting system through EVM (electronic voting machine) in tomorrow’s CCC polls.
Earlier, Election Commission decided to introduce e-voting only in ward number 21 (Jamalkhan), which has 14 polling centers.
A total of 25,315 voters of Jamalkhan ward will have the experience of exercising their voting rights in tomorrow’s elections through electronic voting system for the first time.
Returning Officer Jesmin Tuli told reporters on Wednesday that the EC has taken necessary preparation to hold the elections in free, fair and credible manner.
Nearly 50 lakh ballot papers, 6000 transparent ballot boxes and Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) for Jamalkhan ward have already been distributed.
Seven candidates are contesting for the mayoral post, but ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury and M Manzur Alam Manzu are major contenders. Five others - all independent mayor candidates - are Syed Sajjad Zoha, Mohammad Ibrahim, Jane Alam, Mofajjal Hossain Bhuiyan and Rafiqul Alam.
A total of 21 candidates contested for the mayoral post in the last election held in 2005.
Over 20,000 security personnel comprising six companies of the Army along with the police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and border force have already been deployed to maintain law and order during the polls.
The election has become a prestige issue for the ruling party Awami League (AL) and the BNP-led four-party coalition.
The CCC polls grabbed the media spotlight, as it is a crucial test of popularity of the two major political camps. The poll results may also shape the coming days' politics for both the government and opposition camps.
A good number of local and foreign observers have already reached the port city to observe the much-talked-about polls.
On the other hand, Home Ministry has formed a ‘Coordination cell on maintaining Law and Order’ on the eve of the CCC elections. Official sources said joint secretary (Political) of the ministry Dr Kamal Ahmed Siddique has been coordinating the activities of the coordination cell while Deputy Secretary (Political) has given necessary assistance. The Coordination cell has been set up at room no.318 of the ministry and the phone number for it is 02-7171580. Fax no. 02-7162753.
CCC POLLS AT A GLANCE:
Total Voters: 16, 94,955 (during last CCC polls- 11, 38,000)
Number of Male Voters: 8, 77, 790
Number of Female Voters: 8, 17, 165
Number of Candidates for Mayoral Post: 7 (for 1 post)
Number of Ward Councilors: 249 (for 41 posts)
Reserved Seats for Women: 59 (for 14 posts)
Number of Polling Centers: 674
Number of Sensitive Polling Centers: 222
Number of Election Officials: 15,525
Number of Presiding Officers: 674
Assistant Presiding Officers: 4753
Number of Polling Officers: 9596
Number of Police Check Posts: 120
Security Personnel: Over 20,000 (6 companies of the Army along with the police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and border guards).