Gazipur polls: Mother wins for son as AL bastion falls

As the dust settles on the high-voltage Gazipur city polls, a defiant Zaida Khatun stands tall. Around 7pm, as the results began to trickle in, Zaida's son, former Gazipur city mayor Zahangir Alom, had already declared that his mother had won. 

It wasn't a prophecy, nor a prediction. It was a statement apparently treading a thin line between faith and braggadocio.

It was also a redemption arc. Zahangir was permanently expelled from his party, the ruling Awami League, on May 15 after his nomination was cancelled on May 1.  He had appealed, lost and tried to fight. 

Then, he brought Zaida into the fold. And just seven months before the 2024 national elections, Zaida dealt the ruling party a heavy blow.

This was, however, no smooth operation for Zaida, an unknown face in the political scene; an almost veritable upstart. But somehow, Zaida had stormed the castle and dismantled the bastion of the ruling Awami League. 

Her victory also wasn't a close race. It was a damning one. Azmat Ullah, the chosen one, hadn't sniffed first place even once in the marathon. Though he had narrowed the lead a few times, thousands of votes always separated him and Zaida. The gulf only grew.

By the end of it, Zaida had won in 480 centres by 238,934 votes. Her closest opponent, Azmat, bagged 2,22,737 votes.

The turnout was over 48%, which is lesser than the past two elections.

It must have felt like 2013 for Azmat.  

Gazipur has always been a stronghold of the ruling Awami League. 

In the national elections over the years, Gazipur-1 was bagged by the BNP once, in the 1991 parliamentary polls, but after that it has always been held by the AL. 

The Gazipur-2 and -5 are constituencies the AL has never lost the national polls since restoration of democracy.  

Defeating the AL-candidate and securing the mayoral seat was a gargantuan task for any.

In 2013, BNP's MA Mannan, a comparatively weaker candidate, was tasked with defeating the stalwart Azmat Ullah. With a voter turnout of 63.69%, Mannan upended the system, ensuring that AL's bastion fell in a largely free and fair election. 

A few months before the Jatiya Sangsad polls, the defeat was a blow to the ruling party.

Five years later in 2018, the now-disgraced Zahangir Alam took up AL's mantle and won in an election with a voter turnout of 57.02%.

This was what the Election Commission (EC) had promised would be a model election. With a thick security blanket in place, the EC had managed a peaceful election, a kind that had not been seen in recent years.

A model not stainless

Although there were no allegations of vote-rigging, the absence of the BNP, the major opposition party in the country, made the election less competitive.

A low voter turnout, around 50% according to Election Commissioner Md Alamgir, was another issue.

Announcing the result,  Election Commissioner Md Alamgir once again reiterated how the Gazipur polls was a model and how exactly that was demonstrated.

Earlier, the EC expressed satisfaction regarding the Gazipur city polls, stressing that no information of irregularities has been reported by far.

Meanwhile, Zaida's win is also seen as being not hers alone. It could also be the first, and perhaps most important, feather in the EC's cap. 

On 10 May, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal said, "The Gazipur City Corporation election is very important to us because there is the general election ahead of us. Before this, we think that an election of such a large scale will carry a lot of national importance. That is why the Gazipur election should be a model."

The EC ensured that there weren't any untoward incidents, except two offenders who were apprehended for their involvement in illicitly influencing voters.

Police personnel were even brought from different districts – Jhenaidah, Brahmanbaria and Chattogram – to be stationed at polling centres. This move was aimed at ensuring impartiality of the personnel presented. 

With 8,031 dedicated law enforcers stationed at centres, alongside the presence of 30 Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) teams and 13 platoons of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), no stone was left unturned.

In addition, a fleet of 57 mobile forces, comprising members from the police, Armed Police Battalion (APBN), and the Ansar Battalion, were also deployed. There were also 19 striking teams, with an additional 8 teams on standby at each police station.

The EC has also ensured a strong judicial presence, with 79 executive magistrates working alongside 19 judicial magistrates.

Furthermore, 4,435 CCTV cameras were installed at 3,497 polling booths in all 480 polling centres to enhance security.

Immediate actions

Speaking to reporters at the Election Bhaban after ending the election, Election Commissioner Md Alamgir said based on the information gathered from law enforcement agencies, election commission officials, the media, and election observers, it can be concluded that the Gazipur city election was conducted in a remarkably smooth and peaceful manner.

He further noted that all the candidates who participated in the election expressed their satisfaction with the electoral process and declared their willingness to accept the results, irrespective of the outcome.

Responding to concerns about the slow pace of voting, he explained, "According to election regulations, if voters are present at the polling station until the voting deadline, polling agents are required to wait until the vote is cast. These rules apply to both paper ballots and Electronic Voting Machines [EVMs]."

When asked if any irregularities were captured on CCTV, he said, "We detected certain issues such as long queues that gave certain individuals an advantage to cast their votes first. Immediate action was taken by contacting the relevant authorities over the phone."

Furthermore, he disclosed that at two centres, agents attempted to influence voters, prompting us to promptly intervene by notifying the police and ensuring their removal from the premises.

In addition, he emphasised that neither the EC nor the police got any other reports of irregularities.

Regarding the allegation that Zaida Khatun lacked an agent at a particular polling centre, he responded, "We have consulted with the media personnel stationed in Gazipur as well, and they have confirmed that no such incident occurred."

It was also observed many polling agents sporting different symbols were canvassing voters for Zaida's table clock symbol.

End of the day, the EC seems to have delivered on its promise. What matters next is the consistency.