Posters, mostly laminated, cover Rajshahi city even before symbol allotment

Election symbols for the upcoming Rajshahi city polls were scheduled to be allocated on Friday but posters of ruling Awami League-nominated mayoral candidate AHM Khairuzzaman Liton took over the entire city days before the symbol allotment in defiance of the electoral code of conduct.

Moreover, the posters and festoons are plastic wrapped and laminated which are prohibited as per a High Court's order.

Asked about the matter, Ahsanul Haque Pintu, joint general secretary of the Rajshahi Metropolitan Awami League, said some enthusiastic activists were responsible for putting up the posters. He further stated that necessary actions are being taken to address this matter.

Meanwhile, speaking about the hanging of plastic and laminated posters and festoons, Nowsher Ali, vice president of the Metropolitan Awami League, mentioned that none of them were aware of the High Court's ban on hanging polythene-wrapped posters.

Mayoral candidate Liton expressed concerns, stating that if the polythene-wrapped posters are not hung, the posters will not last.

Delwar Hossain, the returning officer of the election, confirmed that they have been informed of the issue and had already notified the magistrate. He also said that measures will be taken regarding this matter.

During the symbol allotment ceremony on Friday, four candidates were allocated symbols for the mayor's post, while 46 candidates were allotted symbols for the posts of reserved councillors, and 112 candidates were given symbols for the posts of general councillors.

The event was held at the Rajshahi District Shilpakala Academy auditorium, in the presence of the returning officer and 11 assistant returning officers.

The Awami League nominated AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, Jatiya Party's Saiful Islam Swapan, Islami Andolan Bangladesh's Maulana Murshid Alam, and Zaker Party's Latif Anwar as candidates competing for the mayor's position.

Following the symbol allotment, all candidates will commence their campaigns to secure votes.

A total of 351,982 voters are expected to exercise their franchise in this year's Rajshahi city polls on June 21. The polling will be held using EVMs and will have CCTV surveillance at all voting booths.

Councillor candidates too follow the suit

Councillor candidates in the Rajshahi city polls are also using laminated posters extensively.

When asked about the HC order, most of the councillor aspirants claimed to be unaware of such restrictions.

Md Kamruzzaman, who is running for the councillor post in ward 5, has printed 10,000 posters, with 3,000 of them being laminated. When informed about the HC ban, Kamruzzaman expressed ignorance, arguing that laminated posters are not easily identifiable.

Another councillor candidate from ward no 9, Rassel Zaman, stated that he had used laminated posters last year as well and was unaware of the HC ban.

Swagotom Naskar, the owner of Welcome Offset Process and Printing Press in Rajshahi's New Market, mentioned that the cost of 1,000 black and white normal posters ranges from Tk3,000 to Tk3,500. However, if poster lamination is included, the cost per thousand pieces rises to Tk8,000 to Tk8,500.

In another violation of the election code of conduct, Islami Andolan Bangladesh-nominated mayoral candidate Maulana Murshid Alam staged a showdown with microbuses, motorcycles, and small vehicles after being allotted the party symbol.

When contacted, Murshid Alam claimed to be unaware of the matter and requested to speak with the party spokesperson.

Islami Andolan spokesperson Tarif Ahmed said that after receiving the party symbol, they arrived at their office with a microbus and a few motorcycles.