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The Rangpur City Corporation is going into polls today to elect its mayor and councillors amid chilly weather.
Election Commission officials said they had completed all preparations for the polls and Electronic Voting Machines will be used in all 229 polling centres. The commission also identified 86 polling centres as risky but they are also considering these centres as ‘important’.
Ballot boxes, ballot papers, and necessary voting equipment have also been distributed among the presiding officers at the Police Lines compound of the city in the morning.
There will be a six-tire security arrangement over the polls. Some 15 law enforcement members including police, Ansar, and VDP members will be deployed in each centre.
Additional law enforcement staff are also been deployed in 86 risky centres.
There will be one mobile force for each ward, 11 striking forces, and 6 reserve forces comprising 11 platoons BGB, 17 RAB teams, police, and APBn, Ansar in 33 wards of the city. Besides, 33 executive magistrates and 16 judicial magistrates will conduct mobile teams in 33 wards of the city.
Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Nure Alam Mina said they have taken all preparations so that voters can vote peacefully.
Returning Officer of the election Abdul Baten, also a joint secretary of the Election Commission, said the commission has completed all measures to hold a peaceful election. Closed-circuit cameras have been installed in all vote centres. The polls would be monitored by the Election Commission at its Dhaka and Rangpur regional offices.
Jatiya Party Candidate and former mayor Mostafizur Rhaman Mostafa hoped that the voting will be held peacefully.
He said people would re-elect him as Mayor so that he would carry on with the development works of the past five years. Around 60 per cent of areas of the city still remained underdeveloped.
He was also hopeful of winning the election with a huge margin as the city is a ‘vote bank’ of his party.
But he apprehends whether EVMs would bring any benefit. The two days long mock voting training of EVMs failed to attract the voters. It required more training programmes, he said.
Asked about the new holding tax, he said it will be imposed only when the dwellers of those areas get their desired services.
Awami League mayoral candidate Hosne Ara Lutfa Dalia said the development work of the city is insufficient as there was no elected representative from AL during the past five years. She urged people to cast their votes for the boat.
Party insiders said AL rebel candidate Latifur Rahman Milon, former vice president of Rangpur Kotwali AL, could become a headache for the ruling party, as he will get a part of AL's votes.
Latifur, who was expelled from the party recently, is contesting as an independent candidate. He said people want to change this time as they have huge support for him.
Citizen for Good Governance Rangpur city unit President Khandoker Fakhrul Anam said the polling would be participatory and inclusive if the BNP candidate contests in the race.
Mofakharul Islam Liton, a voter from ward 26, expected the polling to be peaceful. The common people are not worried about the law and order situation but cold waves might cause a poor turnout during the first half of the polling day.
Other mayoral candidates are Shafiar Rahman of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Inu), Amiruzzaman Pial of Islami Andolon Bangladesh, Touhidur Rahman Mondal Raju of Khelafat Majlish, Khorshed Alam Khokan of Jaker Party, Abu Raihan of Bangladesh Congress and independent candidate Mehdi Hasan.
Besides, 246 councillor candidates – including 67 for reserved seats for women under 11 wards – are going to contest in the election.
The total number of voters is 4,26,469 in 33 wards of Rangpur City Corporation. Of them 2,12,304 are males and 2,14,165 are female voters.
The first RpCC election was held on December 20, 2012, in which AL-backed candidate Sharfuddin Ahamed Jhantu was elected as mayor.
