Process of fair election should be continued

Jatiya Party candidate Mostafizur Rahman Mostafa clinched a landslide victory in the much talked Rangpur City Corporation Election.

Mostafa bagged 1,60,489 votes with his party symbol 'Plough' against 62,400 votes with party symbol of 'Boat' of his nearest rival Sarfuddin Ahmed Jhantu.

BNP candidate Kawsar Zaman Babla secured their position with 35,136 votes.

Meanwhile the ruling Awami League (AL) bagged number of councillor posts. However, candidates of BNP, Jatiya Party and JSD also won the race.

We welcome the newly elected Rangpur City Corporation mayor.

Rangpur City Corporation election  was held with party symbols for the first time.

In the very first polls in this city, the ruling party candidate Sarfuddin Ahmed Jhantu became mayor beating Mostafa. But the city saw the opposite side of pennies.

There was a different type of amazement in the city polls as the candidates contested with the party symbols.

Participation of all parties and casting votes in festive mood was remarkable where more than 74 percent of votes were casted.

People could exercise their voting rights in free and fair manners. The election was held without violence or irregularities. The process of publishing result was also fair. Overall the election was participative, peaceful and credible.

The election was very important from different point of views. The country's election system has become controversial in recent years for many reasons.

In order to achieve the confidence of the countrymen, holding a fair and acceptable election in Rangpur City became a challenge for the new Election Commission (EC).

It was a big challenge for EC ahead of the national election to be held in late next year.

In this case, we can say that the Election Commission passed the first acid test for efficiency and neutrality.

We believe, holding polls in Rangpur City peacefully will contribute to bring confidence to the voters over election system.

Apart from minor incidents, it can be said the election was consistent and acceptable to everyone's expectations.

Though AL candidate was badly defeated by Jatiya Party candidate,  AL general secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said, "Though AL lost the election, the democracy won."

Meanwhile, the newly elected Rangpur mayor has vowed to work with all and to bring a change in the city.

However, the Election Commission has made an example of neutrality and efficiency in Rangpur election, but it is necessary to maintain its continuity.

There was no incident of violence in this election. Everybody should have same patience and endurance in the forthcoming election. The process of getting confidence in the electoral system must be continued.

If political parties help the Election Commission, then any election can be successfully completed. There are also several city corporation elections in future. We hope that the experience of Rangpur will be helpful in this regard.


risingbd/Dhaka/December 23, 2017/Ali Nowsher/A K Azad