Sylhet, Rajshahi polls: Empty fields, open goals

Infographic: TBS

As two last elections – Sylhet and Rajshahi – of the five scheduled city polls begin on Wednesday, there remains a sense that these will be just formalities.

No major player has taken to the field, with Jatiya Party candidate Nazrul Islam Babul the only strong rival in Sylhet, despite not boasting the best vote bank.

The rest of the candidates aren't expected to give much competition to the Awami League.

In Sylhet, the AL is banking on expat Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury. His manifesto is focused on building a green, clean and smart city. But, he hasn't masqueraded the fact that he is an actual Sylheti, "unlike the past mayors, who are from other districts", according to him.

Anwaruzzaman's nomination raised some concerns as he was never part of any of the AL's city party units. So far, however, no rebel candidates have emerged.

In Rajshahi, AHM Khairuzzaman Liton represents the ruling party for the mayoral seat. With campaign materials of Jatiya Party candidate Saiful Islam Swapan and Jaker Party's Latif Anwar barely, Liton is expected to seal a third term without any hiccups.

Expected victories, however, weren't part of the electoral narrative initially. 

It all began with Gazipur, where the AL-backed Azmat Ullah was defeated by around 10,000 votes by Zaida Khatun, mother of the-then disgraced Zahangir Alom. 

The Gazipur election, which the Election Commission touted as a model for all future polls, went without any incident. It also showed that if the people exercised their franchise, their voices would be heard. 

The only downside was the 48% voter turnout, lower than the past two Gazipur polls. It's a trend that would go on to be repeated.

From there, it was on to Barishal and Khulna. Here, the model election did not hold up, at least in Barishal, where Islami Andolon Bangladesh mayoral aspirant Faizul Karim came under attack. 

Although the EC downplayed the incident, it led to an all-out boycott by the IAB, who will also not contest the Rajshahi or Sylhet polls. 

The BNP, which already made a statement by expelling the "Mir Jafars" who decided to participate in the Barishal and Khulna polls – will also be absent from the field. 

The record low turnouts in both the elections – 51.46% in Barishal and 47.88% in Khulna – means there is room for improvement in the next two polls.

But would it be a matter of scoring in an empty field?

In the Sylhet City Polls, there are 486,605 voters for 1,364 polling booths in 190 centres. 

Of 388 candidates, eight are vying for the mayoral post, higher than the past two elections where the voter turnout was around 62%.

In the Rajshahi city polls, 352,157 voters have been enlisted for 1,153 polling booths in 155 vote centres. 

A total of 161 candidates are contesting for various positions, with four mayoral candidates. The voter turnout here will be important. In the past two polls, the turnout was 78.86% (2018) and 68.70% (2013). 

None of the three elections so far has touched the 60% turnout mark. Bringing voters to the centre is the challenge for the contestants. 

Although in these cities, there is no visible work from BNP to discourage voters, the party already requested all not to cast their vote in these polls.

Sylhet Metropolitan BNP President Nasim Hossain said, we have boycotted this election. As a result, we have no interest here.

JP Mayoral candidate Nazrul Islam Babul expressed concern about the presence of voters in the centre due to AL candidate role to creating a menace among voters, continuous rain and water in many centres. 

However, the Awamileague in both cities is desperate to bring the voters. Going door to door, they requested voters to come and vote. Even leaders from centre take part in the campaign to get more attention. 

The EC, meanwhile, has taken all our preparations, although there are aspects it can't influence.

EC Secretary Jahangir said, "The ongoing city elections is of course participatory as many candidates are participating and all of them are getting the same treatment from us regardless of their political identity. 

"Everyone should know that it is not the EC's responsibility to bring parties to participate in the election. Our duty is to arrange and manage elections properly in a free, fair manner with a level playing field available for all the participating candidates, as well as to ensure the environment for the voter to practise their voting rights freely." 

In a bid to ensure transparent and secure city polls, the EC is set to use around 3,200 CCTV cameras, with 1,740 cameras allocated for Sylhet and 1,560 for Rajshahi. 

Further, to maintain law and order during the voting process, the EC plans to station 16 law enforcement personnel, including armed police and Ansar, at each general centre, and 17 for those identified as "important". 

Additionally, 17 platoons – seven in Rajshahi and 10 in Sylhet – of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) will be deployed on the voting day in those cities.

Besides, executive magistrates, mobile forces, stricting forces and RAB patrolling teams, will also be on duty, bolstering security efforts