AL mayoral candidates win both DNCC, DSCC polls

Awami League mayoral candidates were unofficially declared elected in the elections to Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) on Saturday, reports UNB.

Ruling party contestant Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh won the DSCC election bagging 424,595 votes. He defeated BNP’s Ishraque Hossain, who polled 236,512, by 188,083 votes.

DSCC Returning Officer Abdul Baten announced the results around 12:38am on Sunday. He said the voter turnout in the DSCC election was 29.002 percent.

In DNCC, AL runner Atiqul Islam got 447,211 votes to defeat Tabith Awal of BNP who polled 264,161 by 183,050 votes.

Returning Officer Abul Kashem announced the results around 2:45am on Sunday. He said the voter turnout was 25.30 percent.

Earlier, balloting in the DNCC and DSCC elections ended on 4pm amid ‘low voter turnout’ and reports of sporadic violence and allegations of BNP agents being driven out of polling stations.

The full-fledged use of Electronic Voting Machines or EVMs for recording votes instead of traditional ballot papers evoked mixed reactions from both voters and politicians.

The voting began at 8am and continued till 4pm without any break.

Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina cast her vote at Dhaka City College centre on Saturday morning.

Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda said he was happy with the overall atmosphere during the Dhaka city elections.

About BNP’s allegation that its agents were being driven out of polling centres, he said: “Polling agents driven out of voting centres should go to presiding officers, magistrates and law enforcers and enter polling stations with their help.”

While talking to reporters at the Nirbachan Bhaban in the evening, he also said the voter turnout in the elections was below 30 percent.