print edition: 05 january 2014

8/13/2019 Print Edition: 05 January 2014

1/21

Waiting withbated breathnEmran Hossain

The members of Hindu community in

Satkhira are waiting with bated breath

as the 10th general elections begin to-

day, amid the oppositions threats of a

civil war if elections are held without

their participation.

Several thousand Hindus from Sat-

khira have left their homes since com-

munal violence started in the district in

the aftermath of a death sentence given

to war crimes convict and Jamaat-e-Is-

lami leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee

on February 28.

Those who returned after the deploy-

ment of army are now afraid the elec-tions would provide little respite for

them unless violence is contained once

and for all.

About three dozens of people have

died since last February.

Govinda Lal Sarder, who returned

home on December 25 after over two

weeks of stay in India, said he was hes-

itant to disclose the news of his return

fearing backlash.

Very few people know that I came

back. I might have to leave again if the

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Polling offi cer killed;centres torchednAshif Islam Shaon

Violence by miscreants against the

national elections left one dead yes-

terday. About 100 polling centres were

burnt down, as were polling materials.

At least 20 polling offi cials and law en -

forcers were injured.

Assistan t Presiding offi cer of

Thakurgaon 1 constituency ABM Ju-

baidul Islam, 45, was beaten to death

by miscreants in Thakurgoan on Satur-

day night. He was a laboratory demon-

strator at Salondar Degree College.Thakurgaon Assistant Deputy Com-

missioner Mohammad Muksed said the

incident took place at the Raipur poll-ing centre that came under attack by

miscreants.

At least 10 others were injured in the

attack and were admitted in a hospital

in Thakurgoan.

The attackers also hurled petrol

bombs in a number of polling centres in

Thakurgaon. Sadar upazilas Bholajan

Madrassa polling centres Presiding Of-

ficer Kutub Uddin and Jhargaon Regis-

tered Primary Government School cen-

tres Assistant Pres iding Offi cer Rezaul

Karim were burned in the attacks.

In Moulvibazar, unknown assailants

stabbed Assistan t Pres iding Offi cer

Md Selim at Borolekha upazila around

7:30pm.

We assume that the Jamaat-Shibirmen did this, said Tofail Ahmed, SP of

Moulvibazar.

An attack by Jamaat-Shibir cadres

left 10 policemen, an Ansar member

and a driver injured at Samoskati vil-

lage, a stronghold of Jamaat-Shibir, un-

der Monirampur upazila in Jessore last

night. The law enforcers came under

attack while patrolling in a vehicle with

Ansar members in the area.Police said the Jamaat-Shibir men

hurled bombs at the vehicle and then

attacked with sharp weapons. All mem-

bers of the team were injured. The con-

dition of Ansar member Mohsin and

driver Khaliq was critical, police said.

Jamaat-Shibir activists snatched vot-

ing materials from eight polling centres

in Sadallapur upazila in Gaibandha at

gunpoint. Pre siding offi cer of Tajnaga r

Government Primary School Sabdar

Rahman said Jamaat-Shibir men held

them hostage at gunpoint, snatched the

voting materials and set fire to them.

In Rajshahi, a group of 12-15 BNPJa-maat activists in a sudden attack blasted

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

nJulfikar Ali Manik andMohammad Al-Masum Molla

With the 10th national parliamentary

elections starting from 8am today, the

biggest challenge of bringing the elec-

torate to vote centres and holding polls

peacefully looms large amid the ongo-

ing violence and the oppositions vow

to resist.

Todays polling scenario including

the voters turnout will be the most

significant issue to observe peoples re-sponse to the polls a determining fac-

tor in measuring the strength of the gov-

ernment that will be formed through

the election without participation of themain opposition BNP and its allies.

The opposition BNP also held an

election on February 15, 1996 which

was boycotted by the then opposition

Awami League, Jatiya Party and Ja-

maat-e-Islami.

17 years after that election, similar

polling is being held today.

In the February 15 election, the

Election Commission had announced

26.5% voters turnout and that govern-

ment lasted less than a month.

The present EC has also expressed

concern over the low turnout of voters

in todays polls, violence in polling cen-

tres and burning of ballot papers.

Rashed Khan Menon, a minister of

present election-time government,

who is one of the 153 candidates elect-

ed uncontested, told the Dhaka Trib-une last night over phone, If there is

a low turnout it will leave a kind of im-

pact, but the government cannot create

a political vac uum.

Future political scenario will de-

pend on how the oppositions behave,how soon they reach an understand-

ing, Menon said, adding that, There

is a fear and a sense of insecurity pre-

vailing among voters, but in rural are-

as, I visited and saw a huge interest of

people to cast vote tomorrow. If theoppositions prevent them, this will be

a different issue.

Some opposition leaders believe

political and economic situation of the

country and movement of the opposi-

tion combine will determine the tenureof the new government.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

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Vol 1 No 282 SUNDAY, JANUARY 5, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com SECOND EDITION

JAMAATSHIBIR READYP3

BusinessB1 Four state-owned commercial banks

had to reschedule loans to the tune of

Tk3,700 crore in the first nine monthsof last year.

News3 The ruling AL has initiated belated

campaigns to convince maximum

voters to cast their votes amid fear that

voter turnout in the 147 constituencies

may appear embarrassing for it.

INSIDE

ARTS & LETTERS 7THE CASE FOR THE OPPOSITION 8 ITALIAN NAVY SAVES HUNDREDS 15 SERENA FIRES HER WAY

Security, turnout major challenges10th parliamentary polls start at 8am amid boycott by BNP and allies

Many ifs feature BNPsfuture plansnMohammad Al-Masum Molla

After having failed to resist the polls

despite giving several ultimatums to

the ruling party and months of violent

street protests, main opposition BNP

and its allies are now heading into an

uncertain future.

Some senior leaders of the party have

said the truth is that they have very little

idea about how many more days they

will have to carry on with the move-

ment and get some results out of it.

On the eve of the polls day, the par-

ty claimed that there would not be any

violent resistance in the areas where

voting was taking place because it had

successfully mobilised public opinion

against what it said were one-sided

farcical polls.

With non-stop blockades already in

place, the party is planning to contin-

ue the movement to mount pressure

on the new government to be formed

after January 5 to arrange for another

polls under a neutral administration at

the earliest possible time.

One leader said the political and

economic situation in the country and

the effectiveness of the oppositions

movement would determine the length

of the new governments tenure.

Another leader said the idea now

was to keep the movement on and wait

for the government to make the firstmove for a compromise.

The party also believes that it will not

be possible for the government to stay

in power for too long because the move-

ment has spread across the country.

Leaders said their main challenge

now was to continue the movement

despite the government oppression.

We cannot fight against police and

RAB or any other force because we are

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1


2/21

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, January 5, 2014

Waiting with batedPAGE 1 COLUMN 1

situation turns volatile again, said

Govinda, during an interview with the

Dhaka Tribune on December 29.

Govinda said as many as 1,000 peo-

ple, mostly Hindus, had left the country

through Bhomra land port on the day he

and one of his acquaintances left. There

were some Awami League activists too.

The number of people leaving their

homes increased in November andDecember when over 16 people were

killed in violence as Satkhira remained

virtually cut off from rest of the coun-

try because of a Jamaat siege.

Most of them have not returned

yet. Many are waiting in anticipation of

a political reconciliation, which seems

highly unlikely at this moment.

Those stuck in India are having diffi -

cult times because of their lack of prepa-

ration for a long stay, Govinda said, adding

he himself had to change his addresses

four times and travel frequently. Many

went there without legal documents.

Those who stayed back are keeping

an eye on the situation in the country.

Any sign of normalcy and then would

return straight home.

Swapna, a resident in Kolaroa upazi-

la, described how Jamaat-Shibir activ-

ists were bearing down on the Hindus.

Hindu women have to suffer b ully-

ing almost on a daily basis. There is al-

ways someone telling them: Who split

your forehead, dear Boudi [referring

to the red line married Hindu womendraw on their head]? Do you want us to

help you get across the river to India?

She said in order to avoid being bul-

lied she had stopped drawing her mar-

riage symbol and wearing attires typi-

cal of a Bangalee Hindu woman.

Is it a sin to be born in Bangladesh?

My fathers home is in Noakhali and fa-

ther-in-law lives in Chittagong. I hear it

[torture] is the same with the minority

people everywhere.

She recalled the horrific nights when

the Jamaat-Shibir men went to Hindu

houses and asked parents to hand over

their daughters to them. There is no

way to deal with such insanity."

Govinda and Swapna are two of a

community that had been waiting for

a stable situation with bated breath.

The elections would not mean any-

thing to them unless order is restored

in the district. l

Many ifs feature BNPs future plansPAGE 1 COLUMN 3

a democratic party. We have built a

public opinion against voting and our

election resistance committees around

the country have been working hard to

this end, Mohammad Shahjahan, joint

secretary general of BNP, told the Dha-

ka Tribune.

Shahjahan is now at his home in

Noakhali, working to discourage the

people in his area from voting.

We have campaigned at every

house to discourage the voters. We willdo the same tomorrow, Shamsuzzoha

Khan, president of Naogaon district

BNP, told the Dhaka Tribune.

However, our Bogra correspondent

Hasibur Rahman Bilu reported that the

local leaders and activists of BNP had

not done anything like that. They re-

sorted to widespread violence to scare

the voters and keep them away fromthe polling centres.

When asked who were torching poll-

ing centres and attacking law enforcers

and election offi cials, BNP chairper-

sons adviser Osman Farruk said no

opposition man was involved with the

violence. The common people are ex-

pressing their anger by attacking the

electoral activities because they have

been robbed of their voting rights.

Media reports suggest that at least

88 polling centres around the country

have been torched allegedly by opposi-

tion activists in the two days before the

elections.

Leaders believe that they have been

successful with their all-out efforts to en-

sure poor voter turnout to make the elec-

tions controversial, from an early realisa-

tion they will not be able to prevent the

government from holding the elections.

The government is overseeing the

elections unilaterally. This election has

already lost its credibility both interna-

tionally and nationally. Today people

will boycott the polls to say no to the

government. It is not possible to stay in

power forcefully, Farruk said.

The BNP-led 18-party opposition

combine have deviated several times

from its initial stance, which it adopt-

ed in 2011 after the Awami League-led

government annulled the caretaker

government system through the 15th

amendment to the constitution.

Last year, the party dropped the

caretaker and started pressing the

government for a neutral polls-time

arrangement. Soon after, the opposi-

tion parties said they would not accept

Awami League President Sheikh Hasina

as the head of the polls-time cabinet.

Opposition leader Khaleda Zia even

came up with her own formula of an

interim government, which she said

could be formed with former members

of past caretaker governments.

The call for resisting the polls came

up only after they failed to avert an-

nouncement of schedule for the elec-

tions that they had already boycottedand 153 candidates were elected unop-

posed soon after. l

Polling offi cer killed; centres torchedPAGE 1 COLUMN 3

10 crude bombs and two petrol bombs

at Baya Government Primary School

polling centre.

Two police constables on duty at the

polling centre sustained splinter inju-

ries. Police detained two BNP activists

with several crude bombs from the spot,

said Hafizur Rahman, Offi cer-in-Charge

of Shah Makhdum police station.

In Chittagong miscreants torchedballot papers and other election mate-

rials in Satkania upazila. While carry-

ing ballots and other election materials

for Sadaha Adarsha Mahila Madrasa

polling centre, two pickup vans were

burned down in Fakirhat area.

In Rangpur over 30 miscreants at-

tacked Damur Chakla Dewan Saleh

Madrasa polling centre with sticks andsnatched ballot papers and ballot boxes

from the centre around 7pm.

Presiding Offi cer Asad Ali and two

Ansar and VDP members were injured

in the attack.

In Comilla BNP activists in Mono-

horganj upazila hijacked five ballot

boxes from a polling centre. In Tangail

over 30 miscreants attacked Simla Pub-

lic School polling centre in Gopalpur

upazila and snatched away over 1700

ballot papers this evening.

Two Ansar members were injured

when attackers exploded a petrol bomb

during the attack. Miscreants also

stormed into the Khamarpara Govern-

ment Primary School polling center in

Gopalpur upazila around 7:00pm and

snatched away all 2869 ballot papers

from there, said Tanzina Islam, upazila

nirbahi offi cer in Gopalpur upazila.

Polling centres, mostly schools,

have been burnt down across the coun-

try since Friday.

The arson attacks increased after

the announcement of a 48-hour hartal

on Friday night, alongside the nonstop

country-wide blockade, by the oppo-

sition 18-party alliance that has called

upon the nation to resist the elections.

By 11am yesterday the miscreants had

burnt down more than 88 polling cen-

tres in at least 32 districts including the

capital. They also set fire to election ma-

terials, including ballot papers, in Chit-

tagong and Gaibandha in the afternoon.

In many places, schools books, fur-

niture and classrooms were burnt to

ashes.

In the Jamaat dominated district

Satkhira, miscreants torched two poll-

ing centres at Godaghat Government

Primary School in broad daylight.

Police said the incident took place

around 11am.

In the capital, miscreants torched

two schools at Gaunia and Mollartek in

the morning. Locals and law enforcers

doused the fire before the flames could

spread.l

Security, turnout biggest challengesPAGE 1 COLUMN 4

Mohammad Shahjahan, joint secretarygeneral of BNP, said the government

would have to come to the path of com-

promise soon after the election as it would

not be able to run the country in this way.

The protesters of todays polls already

set fire to around 100 polling centres of

18208, torched ballot papers in different

places including the capital that deep-

ened the sense of fear among voters to

think twice before going to vote centres.

At least one assistant presiding of-

ficer of a polling centre in Raipur of

Thakurgaon was killed and a few oth-

ers were critically injured in separate

incidents of attacks last evening.

Some protesters also launched an

attack on some policemen in in the dis-

trict and took away their arms.

Many other challenges remain in the

147 constituencies where vote will be

cast from 8am to 4pm today.

A 55-year-old man at Joypur village

of Monirampur upazila in Jessore said

he voted in all general elections since

he became a voter.

His identity is withheld for security

concerns as he has decided not to ex-

ercise his franchise in todays election.

I am from the Hindu community

living in a village where the minority

houses were set afire by Jamaat-Shibir

activists, who are against the election,

said the man who always voted for

boat, except once, when he voted a

Jamaat candidate for the candidates

personal reputation for being honest.

If I go to polling centre for casting

vote, their (Jamaat-Shibir) men will

identify me as an Awami League man,

said the man.Yet, if he does not go to vote, there

are chances that he will draw wrath

from the AL men for siding with Ja-

maat-Shibir.

It is a dilemma he had never faced,

and now he had been keeping his cell-

phone switched off most of the time.

Our reporters and correspondents

in the constituencies described similar

picture from many other districts.

But there might have some excep-

tions in some constituencies where

some ruling alliance candidates mayface a head-to-head ballot battle for

having strong independent candidates

who were once in the ruling alliance.

Dhaka-7 (Lalbag-Chakbazar-Kotow-

ali-Bangshal area) constituency is like-

ly to be one of those as former AL law-

maker Haji Selim is contesting the polls

as an independent candidate against

an AL top leader Dr Mostofa Jalal

Mohiuddin. The contest between the

two crated a contesting atmosphere

which might inspire voters to go to

polls center.

But a usual festive mood during the

polls was absent in most o f the constit-

uencies, rather fear gripped the voters.

Who will ensure our security if

anything untoward happens, Hamidul

Islam Chowdhury, a voter of Habiganj

3 constituency, told the Dhaka Tribune.

People are afraid. We will not go to

the polling centres.

A different scenario was there in Go-

palganj. The Dhaka Tribune observed

a changed atmosphere at the eleventh

hour in Gopalganj constituencies be-

cause of the opposition leader Khaleda

Zias remarks on December 29 on Go-

palganj, which is the home district of

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Khaleda said the name of Gopalganj

would be changed. People of Gopalganj

reacted to her remarks angrily.

Following the remarks, people from

all walks of life in Gopalganj have been

gearing up for giving a sharp reply to

the comment through ballot.

They are also planning to cast more

than 95% vote. That is why it can boost

the number of total casting and ensurethe higher percentage of the co untrys av-

erage vote casting, according to conver-

sation with some locals and AL leaders.

We have already made committees

for every centre to ensure a big turn-

out of voters. If any committees fail to

bring in more than 90% vote casting,

they must be held accountable, Ma-

habub Ali Khan, joint secretary to the

district unit Awami League told the

Dhaka Tribune.

Meantime, grass roots BNP formed

election-resistance committees for ev-

ery polling centre in all 147 constituen-cies as per the direction of BNP Chair-

person Khaleda Zia.

Some BNP leaders said these

committees had been working to dis-

courage voters from going to polling

centres.

They would do the same thing to-

day, added the leaders.

(Zahidul Islam contributed Report-

ing from Gopalganj and Emran Hossain

from Jessore) l

EC unsympathetic inencouraging votersnUdisa Islam

People in different social medias ex-

pressed their discontent with the Elec-tion Commissions campaign to urge

the voters for casting their votes in the

10th parliamentary elections.

Before every polls, the EC starts cam-

paigning for a free and fair election

through television advertisements af-

ter the declaration of election schedule.

However, such type of campaigning to

raise awareness among the people was

almost absent this year.

This time, a text message was sent

by Govt Info that says: Selling votes

is equivalent to selling conscience. Do

not sell your vote.

All security measures have been tak-

en. Cast your votes fearlessly. [Vote

Bikri to Bibek Bikri, Bhote Bikri Korben

Na. Nirbachone Sarbik Nirapotta Nis-

chit Kora Hosse. Nirvoye, Nirbighne

Vote Dite Kendre Jaben.]

On condition of anonymity, a senior

offi cial of t he EC said the tex t message

has been sent to everybody, regardless

of whether they would vote or not.

When asked why the campaigning

was being carried out at the eleventh

hour, he said it had been done in right

time.

On the other hand, many people

viewed that such text messages were

meaningless to almost half of the to-

tal voters as they would not cast their

votes. A total of 153 constituencies will

not see any election this year, as lone

candidates of those seats had been

elected uncontested.

One Saif Uddin updated his Face-

book status that says: I have no right

to cast my vote. In this situation themessage from EC is a farce to me.

Another Facebook status update by

Mouli Parvin, who became voter for

the first time, says: I want to choose

my candidate. But I have to accept the

candidate who was selected by AL. EC

can be more sensitive to send this type

of text. What will I do with this mes-

sage?l

Dhaka candidates busy withcounter-resistance plansnUdisa Islam

Sahara Khatun, one of the former tele-

communications ministers of Awami

League government, spent a busy day

yesterday planning counter resistance.

The 10th national elections are

scheduled to begin in the morning to-

day, under an ongoing hartal by the op-

position alliance, which has vowed to

resist the polls at all costs.

Sources said Sahara was busy the

whole day with political activists,

chalking out plans for the election day.

She reportedly gave instructions to her

supporters to resist if anybody wanted

to create obstacles for voters trying to

reach polling centres.

Some Awami League activists were

also borrowed out from other areas to

her co nstituency.

Compared to her campaigns in the

2008 elections, Sahara has done al-

most nothing this time. In 2008, she

started her campaigning one month

before election and in the last 10 days,

she went to different wards every day

and campaigned from early morning to

night. She also attended at least eight

to 10 meetings daily.

Many residents of her constituency,

Dhaka 18, said they did not see her or

any other known face from her cam-

paign come seek votes. Others said she

was most likely to win as they did not

even know the other candidates.

In her constituency, Sahara attend-ed only a big rally when the prime

minister went to Rabindra Sarani near

Azampur bus stand in Uttara.

Like Sahara, some other Awami

League candidates also spent their last

day chalking out plans to create a suit-

able environment so that voters feel

safe at the polling centres.

Awami League candidate Kamal

Ahmed Mojumdar of Dhaka 15 told

the Dhaka Tribune he had planned to

counter any efforts to stop the election.If anybody tries to create obstacles

for voters we will resist them. All o ur sup-

porters are ready to resist them, he said.

When asked whether this count-

er-resistance might create a violent

situation, he said, We will counter the

opposition to give security to voters.

Ekhlas Uddin Molla, an independent

candidate from Dhaka 15, said he was wor-

ried about the environment of poll centres.

Both the Awami candidate and the

opposition are threatening to resist each

other. Those who are contesting inde-

pendently like me, are afraid, he said.l

AL activists to guardpolling centresThe move comes as a warning to the BNP-led opposition

nEmran Hossain Shaikh andMushfique Wadud

Supporters of the ruling Awami League

will guard polling centres alongside law

enforcement agents to prevent any vio-

lence and ensure voter turnout during

todays parliamentary polls.

Party sources said strict orders

were given to party leaders and activ-

ists all over the country to resist any

attempts to attack polling centres or

intimidate voters.

All associate bodies of AL, includ-

ing Jubo League, Chhatra League and

Shechhashebak League, have already

taken preparations, including guard-

ing polling centres, to ward off any-

one who might try to foil the polls, thesources said.

In a warning to the BNP-led oppo-

sition alliance that is boycotting the

polls, AL advisory council member To-

fail Ahmed told a press briefing yester-

day: All preparations for the elections

have been taken. Elections will be held.

Elections cannot be foiled by burning

polling centres.

The presence of voters will be the

same as before. Our party men will

assist the voters to reach the poll cen-

tres, AL organising secretary Khalid

Mahmud Chowdhury said.

Dhaka City AL general secretary Mo-fazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya told

the Dhaka Tribune: AL leaders and

activists will be guarding poll centres

along with the law enforcement agen-

cies.

While visiting Awami League elec-

tioneeri ng offi ces at L albagh in Old

Dhaka, party leaders and activists were

seen discussing ways to ensure security

and bring voters to the polling centres.

Of the nine city constituencies

where voting will be held today, the

Dhaka 7 seat is expected to be well-

fought as a rebel candidate is vying

against the party nominee to win votes

from residents of Lalbagh, Chawkba-

zar, Kotwali and Bangshal.

The two aspirants are Haji M Selim,

joint secretary of Dhaka City AL who is

running as an independent, and Mosta-

fa Jalal Mohiuddin, the AL nominee.

Meanwhile, Chhatra League and

Juba League members were seen taking

position yesterday outside different

polling centres in the capital to

prevent possible attacks by opposition

supporters.

Activists of the ruling partys student

and youth wings said they would con-

tinue guarding the polling centres until

all the votes were cast and counted.

Gazi Sarwar Hossain Babu, organ-

ising secretary of Juba League Dhaka

Metropolitan (south), along with about

50 supporters, was seen visiting polling

centres in Dhaka 6.

During stops at Kabi Nazrul Is-

lam College and Government Shahid

Suhrawardy College, Sarwar assured

the polling o ffi cials tha t his follow ers

would ensure security of the centres aswell as the voters.

Ruling party activists were also seen

standing guard around polling centres

in Dhaka 4 constituency.

Khalilu r Rahman Patawari , offi cer in

charge of Sutrapur police station, said

they had taken necessary security mea-

sures in the area so that voters can cast

their votes without any problem. l

BGB on high alert

along bordersnTribune Report

Security has been tightened along the

border ahead of the 10th National Par-

liament Election to prevent violence atthe polls.

Border Guard Bangladesh members

are on high alert to prevent illegal infil-

tration into to the country, as security

agencies suspect outsiders might cre-

ate violence around the polling centres.

Lieutenant Colonel Imam Ahsan, cap-

tain of 28 BGB in Satkhira, said the EC is-

sued an order to keep an eye on borders.

He added that a huge area was

brought under a security blanket, so

that no culprits would be able to trans-

port any explosives to create violence

on Election Day.

Shahidul Islam, immigrati on offi -

cer-in-charge of Bhomra, said they have

a list of crimina ls, and the offi cials have

been checking every passengers pass-

port, so that no criminal can escape.

CQK Mostak Ahmed, home secre-

tary, said the BGB was asked to keep

alert with strict security measures in

the border areas centring the 10th Na-

tional Parliament Election.

The home secretary said the borders

were sealed-off, but restrictions havebeen imposed because of the elections.l

The polling centre at Nondongachhi Kalabipara Model High School in ruins after miscreants burned it on Friday night DHAKA TRIBUNE

'I have no right to cast my vote.In this situation the messagefrom EC is a farce to me,' saysa voter


3/21

Fear of uncontested fake votesnMohammad Al-Masum Molla

Traditionally, polling agents of con-

tenders challenge each other and also

suspicious voters to make sure that no-

body casts fake votes during elections.

But this year, because of the opposi-

tion boycott, there will not be any poll-

ing agent at the centres to challenge

the agents of those candidates, who are

contesting the elections.

Experts have said the ECs main

challenge will be ensuring a healthy

voter turnout and give the polls credi-

bility amid apprehension that the rul-

ing parties the only contenders this

time may adopt unfair means.

They said ensuring credibility was

also mandatory for the Awami League-

led ruling combine because of the op-

position boycott and the absence of

reputed international observers.

One way of doing that could be

showing substantial voter presence

although until a day before the elec-tions, many voters from different

social classes were undecided about

going to the polling centres fearing vi-

olence, experts said.

Torching of polling centres and

attacks on law enforces and election

offi cials on th e eve of the election day

would only reinforce the prevailing

fear, they said.

In a video clip that has reached jour-

nalists via the agent of an independent

candidate in the Jessore 1 constituen-

cy, Awami League leader Afil Uddin

can be seen telling his supporters: Do

not leave the field vacant. A hundred

of our [Awami League] supporters will

be present at every voting centre. They

will go to the booths to cast vote and

queue up again for voting once more.This will go on over and over again. It

will create an impression among ob-

servers and journalists that many vot-

ers have gathered to cast their votes.

Afil is the uncontested-elected law-

maker from the Jessore 2 seat who had

been campaigning for his fellow party

ticket-holder in the Jessore 1 constitu-

ency.

Usually, the polling agents of con-

tenders challenge a voter if they sus-

pect something fishy. But it will not be

possible to perfectly identify the voters

from their pictures only, Rokhsana

Khondker, steering committee mem-

ber of the Election Working Group, told

the Dhaka Tribune.

Since there is no opposition side

in these elections, challenging of fake

voters will not take place at the polling

centres, former election commission-

er Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain

told the Dhaka Tribune.

Hossain also said to what extent it

would be pos sible for the elec tion offi -

cials to remain neutral would be a big

question because the ruling party lead-

ers had been desperate to show huge

voter turnouts. l

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, January 5, 2014

Tarique: Do notwait for anydirectivenMohammad Al-Masum Molla

In a rare video address to the nation

from exile, opposition leader Khaleda

Zias eldest son Tarique Rahman, also

senior vice-chairman of BNP, urged

people to rise above petty interests

and put in all-out efforts to resist to-

dayus farcical polls.

The five-minute video that was cir-

culated in social media yesterday, was

not his first. A similar message was cir-

culated during the last national councilof BNP in 2008.

Tarique has been living in London

since 2008.

Before going into exile, he had

promised that he would not get in-

volved in any political activity. How-

ever, last year, Tarique elaborated his

future plans in a programme in London

marking the launching of a book writ-

ten by him.

He was arrested in 2007 in the anti-graft

crackdown of the then military-backed

caretaker government. Before going

to London, he secured bail in all the

16 cases filed against him. Recently, a

Dhaka court acquitted Tarique from a

major money-laundering case.

Branding the ongoing movement

as the one for restoring democracy,

Tarique said in the video message: It

is time to wage all-out efforts. No more

waiting for any direction.

From today the only target is to re-sist the autocratic government and the

farcical polls at any cost burying the all

small differences.

Claiming that his mother Khaleda

Zia had been placed on house arrest,

Tarique hinted that the law enforcers

might have to face trial in future for

what he said was going against the

people of the country by siding with

the autocratic government.

Pointing fingers at a neighboring

country, Tarique said the relations with

that country could have been one of

mutual welfare and understanding.

But [certain] political elements are us-

ing the relations to serve their narrow

personal and party interests.

The BNP senior vice chairman also said

the deep crisis prevailing in the country

had posed a question whether the consti-

tution was for the people or whether the

people were for the constitution.

Tariques message comes only a day

after Khaleda Zia had issued a state-

ment on Friday asking people to join

in boycotting and resisting the farci-cal polls. l

Jamaat-Shibir ready to foil electionsnTribune Report

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has in-

structed all i ts party offi ces across th e

country to resist people from going to

their respective polling centres, said

sources in the party.

The Jamaat-Shibir activists would

remain active on the field to foil the

polls for the sake of saving Islam, said

a leader of the party.

Meanwhile, more than 100 polling

centres were reportedly torched yes-

terday until 9pm.

A number of Jamaat leaders claimed

the activists were going door to door toconvince voters not to go to the polling

centres to cast votes for saving Islam

and democracy.

The central committee has in-

structed our leaders and activists to

coordinate with BNP activists and take

position at the polling centres where

Jamaat has strong connections, a Ja-

maat leader told the Dhaka Tribune

wishing anonymity.

The central committee of Jamaat

had instructed its activists to form

poll resistance committees with BNP

in all the constituencies at zilla, thana,

upazila, union and wards to foil thepolls, however, many of the Jamaat ac-

tivists were yet to form such commit-

tee, according to the sources

The Jamaat-Shibir men also have

threatened to make a list of those who will

go to the polling centres in several constit-

uencies including Satkhira 1, an area con-

sidered to be stronghold of Jamaat.

In last few days, the main opposition

parties including BNP and Jamaat went on

a rampage to thwart the one-sided 10th

parliamentary election to be held today.

Fourteen-party alliance candidate

in Satkhira 1 Mostafa Lutfullah alleged

that some Jamaat activists hiding faces

behind masks brought out a procession

in Jalalabad area in Satkhira 1 on Friday

night. They chanted slogans against

the election.

The local administration did not

take any step against them even after

being informed, he said.

Independent candidate of the same

constituency SM Mojibur Rahman al-

leged that Jamaat men had been threat-

ening voters in different areas for not

going to the polling centres.

He demanded that law enforcement

agencies be more active in the vio-

lence-prone areas.

Many people from the minor com-

munities have already left Satkhira sa-

dar in the wake of the violence broken

out by Jamaat in Satkhira 2 in February

last year.

Still Jamaat-Shibir activists are

threatening the minorities and those

who have left are yet to return to their

homes out of fear, said a leader of Hin-

du-Buddha-Christian Oikya Parishad

on condition of anonymity.Another 11-party candidate Mir Mo-

staque Ahmed and independent can-

didate Saiful Karim demanded the law

enforcement agencies to pay special

attention to Jamaat-dominated areas.

The supporters of liberation war

will go to the polling centres if assur-

ance is given by the local administra-

tion, Mostaque said.l

AL campaignsto save facenKamran Reza Chowdhury and

Emran Hossain Shaikh

The ruling Awami League has initiat-

ed belated campaigns to convince the

maximum number of voters to cast

their votes amid fear that voter turnout

in the 147 constituencies may appear

embarrassing for it.

It has now become a key test for the

ruling party to ensure at least over 50%

turnout that would help the govern-

ment to consolidate its authority after

the polls. Around 48% of the total vot-

ers will exercise their franchise today

as polls would not be held in 153 seats

where the candidates has been elected

uncontested.

In 1988, voter turnout was 51.8%

while it was 26.5% during the February15, 1996 elections when there were no

polls in 10 constituencies.

The grassroots leaders are not in-

terested in campaigning in the BNP

strongholds including Bogra and great-

er Noakhali districts where the AL lead-

ers are either in hibernation or assem-

bled in groups to protect them from the

attacks of the BNPJamaat activists.

The AL leaders in other areas have

been working hard to attract the voters

through door-to-door campaigns just

to get at least 50% turnout. They are

said to be arranging transportation fa-

cilities for the voters and have pledged

to protect them from attacks of the op-

position men.

But the voters are hesitant to go to

the polling centres.

The AL leaders in the 147 constitu-

encies were not active until the partys

central leadership asked them to con-

duct campaigns mainly to increase the

voter turnout.

Subrata Das Shimul, AL general sec-

retary of Dakkhinbagh union of Barole-kha, Moulvibazar, told the Dhaka Trib-

une that they had been campaigning

in the villages and asking them to turn

up at the polls centres. The union has

around 19,000 voters.

Voting takes place in two out of the

four seats in the district.

Dakkhinbagh falls within Moulviba-

zar 1 constituency where the AL has

nominated Shahab Uddin as its can-

didate against the Jatiya Partys (JaPa)

Ahmed Riyaz Uddin.

We will go to every house tomor-

row [Sunday] for increasing the num-

ber of voters as the BNPJamaat has

been intimidating the people. Besides,

we will provide rickshaws for the vot-

ers to reach the polling centres, said

Subrata, whose shop was raged by the

opposition activists recently.

He said: I think we will be able to

cast 60% votes against the partys tar-

get of 50%.

Faruk Ahmed Chowdhury, general

secretary of Jamalpur district AL, ad-

mitted that the people were in severepanic in his area.

We have been trying to allay the

fear of the voters belonging to the

pro-liberation forces. We have arranged

transportation facilities for them too.

Our target to see casting of up to 60%

votes, he told the Dhaka T ribune.

He said the party had been mobilis-

ing the workforce as the BNPJamaat

voters would not come to the polling

centres.

Bringing more people to the polling

centres will be better for the party and

the government. Therefore, we have

initiated the move to encourage the

voters, Abdul Malek, general secretary

of ALs Naogaon district unit and can-

didate from Naogaon 5 seat, told theDhaka Tribune.

He said the local leaders had been

asked to go to every house and pursue

them to cast their votes.

Elections would take place in three

constituencies out of six in the district,

a BNP-dominated area.

The situa tion is ve ry diffi cult fo r

the ruling party in Bogra and greater

Noakhali, two strongholds of the oppo-

sition BNP and Jamaat.

The AL leaders have been very in-

active there as the party has no candi-

date in the two of seven constituencies

where voting is set to take place.

Our leaders are not enthusiastic

about the votes here as we have no

party candidates [for Bogra 7 constit-

uency]. The Jatiya Party candidate will

get our votes. Let us see how we can

increase the voters presence, Azam

Khan, president of Gabtali (BNP found-

er Ziaur Rahmans village) unit of AL,

told the Dhaka Tribune.

The situation in Kahalu and Nan-

digram (Bogra 4) constituency issimilar to Gabtali, say the ALs grass-

roots leaders.

Nazrul Islam, president of the ALs

Joylashkarpur union under Daganbhu-

iyan upazila in Feni, said the upazi-

la-level leaders had not passed to them

any instruction to increase turnout.

They [the upazila AL] have formed a

bahini [team] which will work for taking

voters to the polling centres. Please ask

them, how they will do that. They have

not arranged any vehicular facilities for the

voters, Nazrul told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said the AL and its front organi-

sations had been working in favour of

JaPa candidate Rintu Anwar in Feni 3

constituency.

Jyonti Rani Sardar, women affairs

secretary of the ALs Dakop upazila,

Khulna, told the Dhaka Tribune that

the Khulna 1 constituency (Dakop-Bati-

aghata) had not witnessed any violence

as it was a Hindu-dominated area.

AL candidate Panchanan Bishwas

is facing immediate past MP Noni Go-

pal Mondal (independent) and JaPasShunil Shubho Roy.

Hopefully, we will see 75% vote cast

in our constituency. All the candidates

are doing their campaigns peacefully,

said. Out of the total 1,08,000 voters in

Dakop, around 60,000 are Hindus.

Shahriar Alam, AL candidate for Ra-

jshahi 6 seat, said he had ensured that

the voters get rickshaw vans to reach

the voting centres.

Besides that, our workers will cook

food tonight [Saturday] around the

polling centres so that no attackers can

harm the centres. Again, our ward-level

workers have been campaigning door-

to-door, he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Our correspondents report that the

turnout in Faridpur 4 seat and three

others in Gopalganj districts is likely

to be higher following opposition chief

Khaleda Zias remark about the name of

Gopalganj. l

Many voters indifferent in Tukus seatnAbu Bakar Siddique, from Pabna

A large number of voters at Pabnas

Bera and Santhia upazilas have ex-

pressed their unwillingness to cast

ballots in todays parliamentary polls,

saying the one-sided election meant

nothing to them.

This is not a national election, rath-

er it should be called as the election of

Awami League where the main contest

is between an incumbent and a former

Awami League MP, said Mohammad

Shafi, a resident of Dowlatpur village

of Santhia upazila, which is known as a

hub of Jamaat-e-Islami because former

ameer of the party Motitur Rahman

Nizami hailed from there.

The reluctance to vote is evident in

the absence of festive election mood in

the Pabna 1 constituency, which con-

sists Bera and Santhia upazilas.

Shafi also said the common people

had no interest in the kind of elec-tion which had no future, adding that

everybody except a few party men

were busy with their livelihoods.

Regarding popularity among the

voters, independent candidate Prof

Abu Sayeed was leading the race ahead

of incumbent lawmaker Awami League

candidate Shamsul Haque Tuku.

Talking to over a hundred people

in the constituency, the Dhaka Trib-

une found that most were uninterest-

ed about the polls. Many of the locals

however said if they were to vote, they

would choose Sayeed, who was a for-

mer state minister for information.

If the election turns out to be fair, I

hope Abu Sayeed will be elected, said

Joynal Abedin, a voter from Nakaliavillage. He however added that the re-

sults were uncertain as Shamsul Haque

Tuku the incumbent state minister

for home controlled the law enforce-

ment agencies.

The locals also claimed that they

were refraining from supporting the in-

cumbent lawmaker because he served

his own interest instead of serving the

people.

He [Tuku] did nothing for the lo-

cality, rather Tuku engaged himself

to earn wealth in different ways, said

Mobarak Hossain, a tea-stall owner at

Koromja Bazar of Bera, adding that Say-

eed was far better than Tuku.

Tuku did not bear the weight to be a

lawmaker, another voter Faruk Hossain

from Sharisha village claimed. People vot-

ed for Tuku in the previous election be-

cause of the wave of change promised by

the Awami League and because Sayeed

the lawmaker elected in the 1996 elections

did not get AL nomination, he added.

However, some workers of Tukus

electio n offi ce were seen yeste rday

morning to persuade people to cast

vote for the candidate.

On the other hand, Sayeed ex-

pressed concerns of failing in his elec-

tion bid, as the local police were alleg-

edly working on behalf of Tuku.

Three o ffi cers-in-c harge of B era,

Santhia and Ataikula police stations

were closed on Friday by a special or-

der from the Election Commission, fol-

lowing allegations from Sayeed.

The supporters of Sayeed were also

reportedly harassed by Tukus fol-

lowers in different ways including the

filing of lawsuits, Ishrafil Alam, a sup-

porter of Sayeed said.

With the election race lacking any

opposition candidate, including formerJamaat chief Nizami who was twice

elected lawmaker from the constituen-

cy in 1991 and 2001, rumours suggested

that the opposition activists secretly

supported Sayeed because they want-

ed Tuku to fail.

Rais Uddin, secretary of Bera upazi-

la unit of BNP, however told the Dhaka

Tribune that they were boycotting the

election and would no way support an-

ybody from Awami League.

Mostafizur Rahman Firoz, acting

ameer of Santhia upazila Jamaat, also

denied allegations of extending sup-

port to any candidate, and said no Ja-

maat worker will join the polls. l

RESULTS OF ALL PARLIAMENTARY POLLS AT A GLANCE

Election Year 1973 1979 1986 1988 1991 1996 (15 Feb) 1996 2001 2008 2014

Parties 14 29 28 8 75 41 81 54 38 12

Candidates 1, 209 2 ,547 1,9 80 1,192 2,787 1,450 2,574 1,939 1,567 390 [in 147 seats]

Unopposed 11 11 0 18 0 49 0 0 0 153

Turnout(%) 55.6 51.3 66.3 51.8 55.5 26.5 75 75.6 87.13

Winner AL BNP JP JP BNP BNP AL BNP AL

ALfights itselfin 30 seatsnEmran Hossain Shaikh

There will be tough competition in 30

seats in the 10th parliamentary elec-

tions today, among Awami League can-

didates and the partys rebels. Central

leaders and ministers like Matia Chow-

dhury and Kazi Jafar Ullah are going

head to head against fellow party lead-

ers in the polls.

The 104 independents contesting in

the elections are mostly Awami League

leaders, and at least seven of them are

current and former MPs. Around 70

Awami League nominees are facing re-

bel candidates.

Voters said Awami League presidi-

um members Kazi Jafar Ullah, Mostafa

Jalal Mohiuddin, Agriculture Minister

Matia Chowdhury and State Minister

for Home Shamsul Haque Tuku were

the ones facing the toughest competi-

tions from rebels.Jafar Ullah is facing independent

candidate Mujibur Rahman Chowd-

hury alias Nixon Chowdhury at Farid-

pur 4 constituency.

Matia Chowdhury, party candidate

for Sherpur 2, is facing Badiuzzaman

Badsha, Chairman of Nalitabari upazila

and vice-president of Krishak League.

Former AL MP Haji Mohammad

Selim is vying as an independent against

Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin in Dhaka 7.

State Minister for Home Shamsul

Haque Tuku facing former state minister

Abu Sayeed, known as a reformist in the

party, in Pabna 1. In Narail 2 and Satkhira 1,

ruling ally Workers Partys candidates are

facing Awami League rebel c andidates.l

Cylinder blast kills 1nKailash Sarkar

A housewife was killed and a youth in-

jured in gas cylinder explosion in East

Daniya of Jatrabari area in the capital

last night.

The deceased was identified as Jos-

na Begum, 35, wife Mosharraf Hossain

alias Phoolchan.

Jatrabari Police Station Offi cer-in-

Charge Rafiqul Islam said Josna had

fallen victim while she had been coming

out from the 2nd floor of her building.l

But [certain] politicalelements are using therelations to serve their narrowpersonal and party interests


4/21

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, January 5, 2014

City High Low

Dhaka 22.5 13.5

Chittagong 25.6 15.0

Rajshahi 22.3 08.5

Rangpur 20.5 11.4

Khulna 22.8 11.6

Barisal 22.8 10.2

Sylhet 24.9 11.0

Coxs Bazar 24.5 15.5

PRAYER TIMES

Fajar 5:22am

Sunrise 6: 41am

Zohr 12:04am

Asr 3:49pm

Magrib 5:25pm

Esha 6:46pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

WEATHER

Dry weather likely

nUNB

Weather may remain dry with partlycloudy sky over the country until 6pm

today.

Light to moderate fog might occur

over the country during midnight till

morning, Me t Offi ce said.

Night and day temperature may

remain nearly unchanged over the

country. The sun sets in the capital at

5:25pm today and rises at 6:43am to-

morrow.

Countrys highest temperature 25.6

degree Celsius was recorded at Chit-

tagong and lowest 6.6 degrees at Ch-uadanga yesterday. Highest and lowest

temperatures recorded in some major

cities yesterday were:

38 injured as RMG workers-police clashnTarek Mahmud, Chittagong

At least 38 people, including eight po-

licemen, were injured in a clash be-

tween readymade garment workers

and police near the Chittagong Export

Processing Zone yesterday.Police and local sources said work-

ers had vandalised two RMG factories

Section Seven and Section Apparels

five vehicles, and torched a motor-

cycle at the CEPZ intersection around

10am. They were demanding the im-

mediate implementation of the newly

announced wage board.

Arifur Rahman Arif, inspector (in-

telligence) of Industrial Police in Chit-

tagong, told the Dhaka Tribune that

around 8,000 RMG workers locked into

clashes with the police when they tried

to disperse the agitated workers. Eight

policemen had sustained injuries dur-

ing the clash, he added.

The situation was brought undercontrol after additional police from the

EPZ police station went to the scene and

fired blank rounds and conducted ba-

ton charges, Mostak Ahmed, additional

deputy commissioner of Port Zone of

Chittagong Metropolitan Police said.

The workers claimed that at least 30

of them received injuries because of

the police action.

Later, RMG factory owners, the

workers b ody, offi cials f rom Bang la-

desh Export Processing Zone Authori-

ties and law enforcement agencies

conducted a meeting and decided to

implement the new wage board for

workers bywithin January 9, the ADC

said.

After receiving the assurance, the

workers withdrew their demonstration

around 1:30pm. l

AL man violatesdomestic help

nOur Correspondent, Rajbari

A domestic help was allegedly raped by

a local Awami League leader in Rajbari

district on Saturday.

Sources said Siraj Mandal, 45, sonof Tasel Mandal in Barabanglot village

under Koshbamajail union of Pangsha

upazila had raped the maid while she

had been working in his house. Siraj is

the AL joint- secretary of the union.

When contacted, Pangsha Police

Station Sub-inspector (SI) Nizam Uddin

confirmed the incident.

Police sources also said the house

help had been working in the house of

Siraj for a long time and he tried to de-

velop an illicit relation with her.

Locals formed a human chain in

front of Pangsha Press Club protesting

the incident. l

Arson in pollingcentre shatterschildrens dream

nOur Correspondent, Lakshmipur

Students of Rosulpur Primary School

under Ramganj upazila of the dis-

trict became heartbroken as their new

books were burned to ashes yesterday.

According to sources, activists of

18-party alliance allegedly set fire tothe school at night in order to foil to-

days election as the school was select-

ed as polling center.

The fire burned 1,100 books, six

pairs of benches and a chair.

The fire also shattered dreams of the

students as they did not get new books

in their new classes.

The teachers were supposed to pro-

vide the books among the students on

January 2 as they had to attend train-

ing sessions for todays election. But

they could not provide the books as the

school was torched.

Arafat Hossain, a fourth-grade stu-

dent of the school, went to the school

with the hope for getting new books.But he became heartbroken because of

the incident.

Nusrat, Minhaj, Shampa, Pria and

others echoed Arafat.

Sahena Akter, Abul Kalam, Anwar

Hosain, Jahanra Begum, guardians of

the students, also expressed frustra-

tion over the incident.

Nurunnahar, the headmistress ofthe school, said We have become dis-

appointed likewise the students as we

could not provide the books among

them.

Deputy Commissioner AKM Miza-

nur Rahman, Police Superintendent

Abul Foyej, district Primary Education

Offi cer Nurul Islam a nd upazi la Pri-

mary Ed ucatio n Offi cer Nabir Uddin

visited the spot.

Distric t Primary E ducati on Offi cer

Nurul Islam says a demand letter has

been sent to the directorate seeking

books and benches.

We hope we can provide the stu-dents with new books within a couple

of days, he says. l

Dhaka 17 voters unaware ofcandidates, symbolsnAbu Hayat Mahmud and

Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

The residents of Dhaka-17 constitu-

ency, which comprises the posh neigh-

bourhoods of Banani, Gulshan and

Dhaka Cantonment, have no interest in

the one-sided 10th parliamentary polls

and most voters of the area said they

would not go out to vote today.

Many voters told the Dhaka Tribune

yesterday evening that they had no in-

formation on the candidates vying for

the seat or their election symbols.

The voters also claimed that the

candidates did not run adequate cam-

paigns or meet with the locals. Some

also said they had no idea that polls

would be held in their area or where the

polling centres were.

Polls are being held in our area? Idid not know, said Jubaida Begum,

owner of a tea stall at Banani Road 17.

Even if the polls are held tomorrow, I

will not go to vote.

Since the incumbent lawmaker and

Jatiya Party chief HM Ershad withdrew

his candidature, three new aspirants

have entered the race.

The new faces on the ballot paper in-

clude Abdul Latif Mallick of Jatiya Party

(Manju) with bicycle symbol, SM Abul

Kalam Azad of newly-floated Bangla-desh Nationalist Front with television

and independent candidate MA Hannan

Mridha, whose symbol is football.

The ruling Awami League did not field

any candidate as it had earmarked the

seat for Ershad, while the BNP-led op-position parties are boycotting the polls.

The candidates who are running,

meanwhile, seem to have failed to cre-

ate much enthusiasm among the voters.

In every (past) parliamentary elec-tion, I have gone to vote with special

interest. But this year, I will not go to

the polling centre as I have no interest

in the one-sided polls, said Ashique

Anowar, a school teacher and Banani

resident. The polls have not obtained

support from all over the world, so how

can I go to cast my vote?

I know another election will be

held within a little time just after the

polls tomorrow, so why should I go to

cast my vote spending my vehicle fuel

for this one-sided polls? he added.Ashique also said he did not know

the names nor the symbols of the three

new candidates. None of the candi-

dates and their supporters came to my

house with voter slips and leaflets like

in previous po lls, he added.

Md Dulal, an electrician who lives

inside the cantonment, said he would

not be going to the polling centre for

fear of possible violence.

Belal Hossain, a resident of Gulshan

1, also said he would not cast his ballot

this time, although he had voted in al-

most every national election from 1991

to 2008. l

Rajshahi votersconfused, panickednMohammad Jamil Khan,

from Rajshahi

The voters in Rajshahi divisions two

constituencies Rajshahi 3 and Ra-

jshahi 6 allege that the opposition

supporters are threatening them not goto the polling centres today while the

Awami League candidates have been

asking them to exercise their f ranchise

fearlessly.

Moreover, the persistent incidents

of violent clashes and attack on poll-

ing centres to thwart the polls have put

them in a dilemma about the voting.

According to distric t Election Offi cer

Saiful Islam, there are 3,19,698 voters

in Rajshahi 3 constituency and in Ra-

jshahi 6 election area, it is 2,73,000.

The number of female voters is almost

half. The polls will be held at 180 poll-

ing centres in the two seats.

In both the constituencies, the AL-

nominated MP aspirants are ahead of theircontending independent candidates.

Reports of threatening the voters

came from Bagha and Charghat area.

Police said they were receiving com-

plaints from Nimpara, Halua, Patiakan-

di, Bagubagha, Chatari and Monipur

union saying they were instructed notto go to cast votes.

Confirming the incident, Khandokar

Golam Mortoza, offi cer-in-c harge of

Charghat police station, told the Dhaka

Tribune that they were trying to trace

the criminals.

Many among the Hindu communi-

ties of the area are also in fear. Pulak

Chowdhury, a resident of Bagha area,

said they had been frightened over

the reports of attack on polling centres

across the country. Moreover, some

people cut down trees and attacked

our houses in Habashpur area recently

but no one had the courage to file any

cases, he told the Dhaka Tribune.

If we go to cast votes and anything

happens to us, who will take the re-

sponsibility? Pulak asked.In this regard, Abul Khayer, offi cer-in-

charge of Bagha police station, told the

Dhaka Tribune that patrol teams were

active in the area while the joint forces

had also been deployed. He claimed thatthe situation was under control.

Meanwhile, some voters think about

casting the ballots or else they would

be marked as activists of any political

party opposing the polls.

Abdu Sabur, a resident of Bagha area,

told the Dhaka Tribune: We fall in

traps. If we do not go to poling centres

then the Awami League will treat us asBNP men while if we vote, the BNP will

treat us as Awami League supporters.

Local AL leaders said they were pre-

pared to ensure a peaceful election.

Abdus Salam, president of ALs Mo-

honpur upazila unit, told the Dhaka

Tribune that the activists and leaders

would be present on the streets. If

anyone tries to create any barrier for

the voters, the party activists will help

the law enforcers taking action.

Aspirants hopeful

In the two seats of the division, both

the strong candidates belong to the

Awami League and they hope to win

the polls.

According to district returning of-

fice, AL-nominated Shahriar Alam is

participating in the polls with boat

symbol from Rajshahi 6 seat while for-

mer ruling party lawmaker Raihanul

Haque as independent candidate with

butterfly as his election symbol.Contacted, Shahriar told the Dhaka

Tribune: I have worked in the area for

the last five years and the people also

love me so much. Learning all these

about me, Prime Minister Sheikh Ha-

sina has given me the nomination.

He hoped that the voters would re-

ject those who were working for their

personal interests and took their posi-

tion against the AL.

In Rajshahi 3, district AL President

Meraz Uddin Mollah, who was elected

as an MP in 2008 elections, is contest-

ing as independent candidate since the

party nominated Ayne Uddin.

Meraz, told the Dhaka Tribune: I

have sacrificed many things for the party

and worked for the development of the

area. Despite these, the party did not give

me the nomination. For this reason, on

request of the local people, I am partici-

pating in the polls as an MP candidate.

He asked the people to exercise their

voting rights not considering the elec-tion symbol of the candidates but their

activities.l

Postal ballot ignorednMohosinul Karim and

Rabiul Islam

Ignorance surrounding the postal ballot

voting system, added with the Election

Commissions lack of initiative to pub-

licise the procedure, is causing at least

600,000 elec tion-rel ated offi cials an d

many expatriates to be deprived from

their voting rights every election year.

Voting through a normal process

is not an option for most of the public

servants, law enforcers, teachers and

other offi cials , who are involve d with

the election process and are deputed to

different places away from where theyare enlisted as voters.

Bangladeshi missions abroad are also

in the dark about the postal ballot vot-

ing system, while most of the 80 lakh

Bangladeshi expatriates are not voters.

According to Deputy Commissioner

of Dhaka Shaikh Yusuf Harun, the Elec-

tion Commission has a provision of tak-

ing postal votes by sending postal bal-

lots to the intereste d offi cers or persons.

The postal ballot is sent to an in-

terested person, after they submit an

applic ation to the returni ng offi cer of

the concerned area 15 days prior to the

election date. The applicant will thenresend the ball ot to the return ing offi -

cer after casting his vote confidentially,

the Dhaka DC said.

The returni ng offi cer will s end the

postal ballot to the EC and it will be

counted for the aspirants for whom the

offi cer or person wil l give their vote, he

added.

We are yet to receive a single ap-

plication. Nobody is interested to give

such votes as most of them are not

aware about the system. They would

be interested, if the commission takesany initiative to create public aware-

ness in this regard, the Dhaka DC said.

Deputy Secretary Piyar Mohammad

said: Though they have an option to

cast their votes by postal ballots, most

of the offi cers are not int erested to do

it. There is no publicity in this regard.

As a result, around 600,000 voters can-

not cast their votes every election year.

Senior Assistant Secretary Nurul

Karim Bhuiyan, who is now in Patuakh-

ali on election duty, said: I have never

heard that any offi cer applied to any re-

turning offi cer for ca sting his vot es by

postal ballots. I am also not interested

to do so.

Asked about publicity surrounding

postal ballots, the EC Secretary Mo-

hammad Sadique refused to comment

saying he was very busy.

Lack of awareness about the postal

ballot system also failed to create en-

thusiasm among expatriates living

abroad.

Bangladesh Ambassador to the UAE

Mohammad Imran said: We have not

received any letter from Bangladeshi

expatriates for giving vote by post.I have no knowledge about postal

ballot and we have no such activities,

Labour Counsellor to Riyadh Emdadul

Hoque told the Dhaka Tribune.

Shajahan Bhuiyan, a Bangladeshi ex-

patriate in Saudi Arabia, sa id: We are not

voters and the government has not made

us voters, which is our big demand.

Mohiuddin Babul, a Bangladeshi

businessman in South Africa, said: We

do not know anything about postal

ballot.l

A number of ballot boxes stacked at MA Aziz Stadium premises in Chittagong under police surveillance yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

UP chairmanmurdered

nTribune Report

Awami League leader and acting chair-

man of Dhamalia union parishad in

Dumuria upazil of Khulna was killed

yesterday.Locals said acting chairman Sha-

hidul Islam came out of his residence

around 11:30am as some people called

him out. Miscreants shot him there and

fled from the scene. Locals rushed him

to Khulna Medical College Hospital but

Shahidul succumbed to his injuries on

the way to hospital.

Local AL activists detained Shohan,

a Shibir activist, in connection of the

killing. They handed him over to po-

lice. Later he died in a c ross-fire. Police

recovered arms, bullets and bombs

from the spot.

Offi cer-in-C harge of Dumuria polic e

station Shah Mohammad Awlad Hos-

sain said Shohan informed police thatsome fellow members were waiting in a

field named Napitar Math. Police went

to the spot and the miscreants opened

fire. Shohan shot dead on the spot. Two

police members were injured in the

cross-fire.l

CHT people take onchallenge to cast votenAdil Sakhawat

People in CHT areas are facing prob-

lems to reach polling centres as it takes

a long time to reach the voting stations

crossing the bumpy roads from their

abode.

The voters are in a festive mood

about polls though they have to face

trouble to reach polling centres.

Mrinal Kanti Tripura, independent

candidate of Khagrachhari told the

Dhaka Tribune, As this area is veryimpassable, voters will face trouble toreach the voting stations. They have to

approach the centres on foot only.

Many voters have already gone to

their relatives houses, close to polling

centres, the day before polls only to

cast vote, he said.

About the pre-election violence,

Mrinal told the Dhaka Tribune his

family were detained by the United

Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF) men

two days before polls and later released

following negotiations with them.

Voters in Rangamati are also in a fes-

tive mood ahead of the election, butthose living in the inaccessible areas

came near polling centres the day be-

fore polls.

Independent candidate Ushatan Taluk-

dar of Rangamati alleged that the vot-

ers had been facing harassment by the

UPDF members.

Ushatan also alleged that Awami

league activists were continuously

threatening his agent in the area.

My supporters were more than

other candidates in this constituency,

he said. l

Garment workers of Section Seven Garment Factory stage demonstration yesterday,

demanding salaries under new structure DHAKA TRIBUNE

'As this area is veryimpassable, voters willface trouble to reach thevoting stations. They haveto approach the centres on

foot only,' says Khagrachhariindependent candidate


5/21

4

171

17

192

2175

18

299

300

298

97

1

108

3

99

104

2

6

98

7

5

4

118

9

46

11

114

52

224

44

8

47 232

25

165

10

273

109 113

80

3648

86

12

70

83

271

64

82

92

28

79

27

62

94

33

60

95

43

90

23

242

34

54

26

51

39

279

40

61

117

69

91

236

122

16042

76

32

58

239

75

228

107

237

71

93

240

226225

233157

35

84

211

210

17

96

45

6872

89

238

31

235

196

20

277

116

297

110

88

49

29

65

214

294

24

22

146

66

59

137

296

56

111

272

112

105

78

73

57

168

13

81

14

55

158147

103

234

293

169

216

74

19

85

38

230

227144

130 159

217

278

222

67

275

209

30

37

215

145

138

77

132

115

156

140

142

87

221

241

131

126

212

135

291

50

18

155

106

151

163

231

220

17

243

15

129

120

261

102

213

166

21

136

63

143

197

264

164

258

247

218

223

245

134

119

150

198

123

276

268

41

289

270

16

280

127

148

262

194

219

128

124

139

121

267

292

256

283

161

295

251

265

152

244

154

141

249

290

202

229

125

257

162

246

193

3

253

133

203170

153

259

172

281

260

282

263

201

252

250

248

167

149

255

288

266269

206

20405

274

199200

284

254

195

191

208

53

295

176

287

178

101

286

286 285

287

100

7

186

187188

189190

184

185 181

180

182

184

179

177

Special 5DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, January 5, 2014

004 Thakurgaon-2

007 Dinajpur-2

013 Nilphamari-2

015 Nilphamari-4

017 Lalmonirhat-2

019 Rangpur-1020 Rangpur-2

023 Rangpur-5

026 Kurigram-2

027 Kurigram-3

033 Gaibandha-5

034 Joypurhat-1

035 Joypurhat-2

036 Bogra-1

037 Bogra-2

038 Bogra-3

040 Bogra-5

041 Bogra-6

043 Chapainawabganj-1


046 Naogaon-1

047 Naogaon-2

051 Naogaon-6

052 Rajshahi-1

053 Rajshahi-2

055 Rajshahi-4

056 Rajshahi-5

058 Natore-1

059 Natore-2

061 Natore-4

062 Sirajganj-1

063 Sirajganj-2064 Sirajganj-3

065 Sirajganj-4

067 Sirajganj-6

069 Pabna-2

071 Pabna-4

072 Pabna-5

076 Kushtia-2

085 Jessore-1

087 Jessore-3

093 Narail-1

095 Bagerhat-1

096 Bagerhat-2

097 Bagerhat-3

102 Khulna-4

103 Khulna-5

104 Khulna-6

107 Satkhira-3

108 Satkhira-4

112 Patuakhali-2

114 Patuakhali-4

115 Bhola-1

118 Bhola-4

119 Barisal-1

123 Barisal-5

124 Barisal-6

126 Jhalkathi-2127 Pirojpur-1

128 Pirojpur-2

130 Tangail-1

132 Tangail-3

133 Tangail-4

136 Tangail-7

137 Tangail-8

140 Jamalpur-3

146 Mymensingh-1

147 Mymensingh-2

149 Mymensingh-4

150 Mymensingh-5

153 Mymensingh-8

154 Mymensingh-9

160 Netrokona-4

161 Netrokona-5

162 Kishoreganj-1

163 Kishoreganj-2

165 Kishoreganj-4

166 Kishoreganj-5

167 Kishoreganj-6

169 Manikganj-2

170 Manikganj-3

173 Munshiganj-3

175 Dhaka-2

176 Dhaka-3181 Dhaka-8

182 Dhaka-9

183 Dhaka-10

184 Dhaka-11

185 Dhaka-12

186 Dhaka-13

187 Dhaka-14

192 Dhaka-19

193 Dhaka-20

194 Gazipur-1

195 Gazipur-2

196 Gazipur-3

198 Gazipur-5

202 Narsingdi-4

203 Narsingdi-5

205 Narayanganj-2

206 Narayanganj-3

207 Narayanganj-4

208 Narayanganj-5

209 Rajbari-1

210 Rajbari-2

211 Faridpur-1

212 Faridpur-2

213 Faridpur-3

218 Madaripur-1

219 Madaripur-2220 Madaripur-3

221 Shariatpur-1

222 Shariatpur-2

223 Shariatpur-3

225 Sunamganj-2

227 Sunamganj-4

229 Sylhet-1

231 Sylhet-3

233 Sylhet-5

234 Sylhet-6

237 Maulvibazar-3

238 Maulvibazar-4

239 Habiganj-1

246 Brahmanbaria-4

248 Brahmanbaria-6

250 Comilla-2

255 Comilla-7

256 Comilla-8

258 Comilla-10

259 Comilla-11

260 Chandpur-1

261 Chandpur-2

262 Chandpur-3

263 Chandpur-4

264 Chandpur-5

265 Feni-1266 Feni-2

268 Noakhali-1

269 Noakhali-2

270 Noakhali-3

271 Noakhali-4

272 Noakhali-5

275 Lakshmipur-2

276 Lakshmipur 3

278 Chittagong-1

282 Chittagong-5

283 Chittagong-6

284 Chittagong-7

285 Chittagong-8

287 Chittagong-10

291 Chittagong-14

294 Coxs Bazar-1

295 Coxs Bazar-2

296 Coxs Bazar-3

NO VOTINGMap of Constituencies

VOTING001 Panchagarh-1

002 Panchagarh-2

003 Thakurgaon-1

005 Thakurgaon-3

006 Dinajpur-1

008 Dinajpur-3

009 Dinajpur-4

010 Dinajpur-5

011 Dinajpur-6

012 Nilphamari-1

014 Nilphamari-3

016 Lalmonirhat-1

018 Lalmonirhat-3

021 Rangpur-3

022 Rangpur-4

024 Rangpur-6

025 Kurigram-1

028 Kurigram-4

029 Gaibandha-1

030 Gaibandha-2

031 Gaibandha-3

032 Gaibandha-4

039 Bogra-4

042 Bogra-7


048 Naogaon-3

049 Naogaon-4

050 Naogaon-5

054 Rajshahi-3

057 Rajshahi-6

060 Natore-3

066 Sirajganj-5

068 Pabna-1

070 Pabna-3

073 Meherpur-1

074 Meherpur-2

075 Kushtia-1

077 Kushtia-3

078 Kushtia-4

079 Chuadanga-1

080 Chuadanga-2

081 Jhenaidah-1

082 Jhenaidah-2

083 Jhenaidah-3

084 Jhenaidah-4

086 Jessore-2

088 Jessore-4

089 Jessore-5

090 Jessore-6

091 Magura-1

092 Magura-2

094 Narail-2

098 Bagerhat-4

099 Khulna-1

100 Khulna-2

101 Khulna-3

105 Satkhira-1

106 Satkhira-2

109 Barguna-1

110 Barguna-2

111 Patuakhali-1

113 Patuakhali-3

116 Bhola-2

117 Bhola-3

120 Barisal-2

121 Barisal-3

122 Barisal-4

125 Jhalakathi-1

129 Pirojpur-3

131 Tangail-2

134 Tangail-5

135 Tangail-6

138 Jamalpur-1

139 Jamalpur-2

141 Jamalpur-4

142 Jamalpur-5

143 Sherpur-1

144 Sherpur-2

145 Sherpur-3

148 Mymensingh-3

151 Mymensingh-6

152 Mymensingh-7

155 Mymensingh-10

156 Mymensingh-11

157 Netrokona-1

158 Netrokona-2

159 Netrokona-3

164 Kishoreganj-3

168 Manikganj-1

171 Munshiganj-1

172 Munshiganj-2

174 Dhaka-1

177 Dhaka-4

178 Dhaka-5

179 Dhaka-6

180 Dhaka-7

188 Dhaka-15

189 Dhaka-16

190 Dhaka-17

191 Dhaka-18

197 Gazipur-4

199 Narsingdi-1

200 Narsingdi-2

201 Narsingdi-3

204 Narayanganj-1

214 Faridpur-4

215 Gopalganj-1

216 Gopalganj-2

217 Gopalganj-3

224 Sunamganj-1

226 Sunamganj-3

228 Sunamganj-5

230 Sylhet-2

232 Sylhet-4

235 Moulvibazar-1

236 Maulvibazar-2

240 Habiganj-2

241 Habiganj-3

242 Habiganj-4

243 Brahmanbaria-1

244 Brahmanbaria-2

245 Brahmanbaria-3

247 Brahmanbaria-5

249 Comilla-1

251 Comilla-3

252 Comilla-4

253 Comilla-5

254 Comilla-6

256 Comilla-8

257 Comilla-9

267 Feni-3

273 Noakhali-6

274 Lakshmipur-1

277 Lakshmipur-4

279 Chittagong-2

280 Chittagong-3

281 Chittagong-4

286 Chittagong-9

288 Chittagong-11

289 Chittagong-12

290 Chittagong-13

292 Chittagong-15

293 Chittagong-16

297 Coxs Bazar-4

298 Parbatya Khagrachari

299 Parbatya Rangamati

300 Parbatya Bandarban


6/21

Art everywhereThere are few beer waysto discover a place than throughits popular art. In Bangladesh,

some of the nicest arsc stuffis very accessible. Its on display

on the countrys roads, where

rickshaws, autos and trucks aredecorated in a beauful manner.

From A to Z: What I love about Bangladesh

BaulBaul is a musical tradion that can be found in both India andBangladesh. The music, played by a group of musicians called fakirs,is fascinang and deeply spiritual. Lalon Fakir, a mysc who lived in

the 19th century and called himself a fakir, is the most important

player of bauls. Lalon Fakirs teachings transcend tradional Hin-duism and Islam, which makes him an important figure for people

regardless of religion.

Civil societyBangladesh has made a quite an impressive journey in thepast decade. Much of this is courtesy to Bangladeshs civil society,which is innovave, hardworking and does much of what the stateis neither able nor willing to do. Between 2000 and 2010, poverty

levels went from 49% to 32%, and life expectancy has jumped to 69

years. Bangladeshis now live four years longer than Indians acrossthe border, who are twice as rich.

DhakaSo many things can be said about the Bangladeshi capital. Itscrowded, polluted, noisy and impossible to get around. But its alsoa fascinang place. Somehow, there is as much love as there is non-

stop acvity. The alleyways lead to curious places, the markets are

filled with anything and everything. And its inhabited by some ofthe most friendly, helpful and generous capital-dwellers Ive ever

come across.

EntrepreneurshipWith a populaon of more than 160 million, sharing a small

geographical space which lacks in infrastructure and facilies, Ban-

gladesh is a place where people create their own opportunies.Finding ways to do that requires a lot of invenveness and imagina-

on, and ge ng creave with very few resources.

Fanciful,kitschy

visualsMosques, pop stars, holypeople, colourful portraits.

You will not be bored.

GirlsBangladeshi girls deal with a whole different set of social

pressures. They are oen married off early and face more restric-

ons than their brothers and male friends. Public spaces remain

male-dominated territory. But things are changing. Much of Ban-gladeshs development has been female-driven, and women are

increasingly influencing decision-making, both inside and outsidethe family. The countrys schools now have more girls than boys a

reverse of earlier paerns. These are the girls of the future.

Houses made from stoneIn pastel colours.

IntensityIntense. I guess theres simply no other way to be for a countrythats one of the most crowded in the world.

KhichuriBangladeshis love their meat. They really do. But one dishthat is usually spared the meat treatment is khichuri: a simple

but ingenious dish made from rice and lenls. There are very fewthings that beat eang (with your hands, theres no other way)

a plate with warm khichuri in the morning, at a small communal

table overlooking the street life outside.

LungiWear it however you want, whenever you want.

Meetings, random onesIf you visit Bangladesh from abroad, your typical daywill probably look like this: Get up, put on your sandals, step

outside, and within a minute or two, youve met someone onthe street who wants to talk to you (using Bangla, broken En-

glish, perfect English, body language whatever). Oen, thissomeone is up for helping you out, inving you over, hearing

about your life, sharing stuff about her/his own life.

No wasteIf you dont buy into that consumerist idea that thingsare disposable and should be costantly replaced with a new, im-proved version Bangladesh is the place for you. If you didnt

reflect on your own use of the worlds resources before, you willstart to here.

PhotographyBangladesh has a rich tradion of photography, which in re-cent years has emerged as one of the most popular means of

visual expression in the country. Much of that is to the credit ofShahidul Alam, who first organised Chhobi Mela, the first photo

fesval of its kind in Asia, in 1999/2000. Since then, it has beenon every other year in Dhaka.

QuaysIf Bangladesh has a body, the rivers are her veins. Rivers

crisscross the country from north to south, and make importantroutes of connecon, traffi c and transportaon. Most towns and

cies, even the smallest villages, have their own quays or launchghats, where boats arrive and depart. Passing me at them is

great.

TagoreThe 19th century poet, author and musician RabindranathTagore is probably Bangladeshs #1 naonal symbol, even though

he was from the part of the Bengal that today belongs to India. In1913, he became the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize for Litera-

ture. He is also the only person to have wrien the naonal anthem

for two countries, both India and Bangladesh. His family was richand influenal and owned houses in many locaons, one of them is

a beauful spot called Shelaidaha, in rural Kusha.

Unexpected thingsA boy playing an arcade game (which I remember verywell from being a kid in the 1990s). A girl walking home in rural

Barisal. The old railway staon in Khulna. Beauty products anda cassee tape in a shop-window in Dhaka.

JENNY GUSTAFSSONis ajournalist from Sweden, who was

interested to visit Bangladesh to

see its people.

We wanted to go somewherenot brimming with tourists.

Bangladesh is so vibrant,because the people are always

doing something.

They say you dont know what

you got till its gone. Perhaps youalso dont know what you got till

youve seen it from an outsiders

perspective.When this article originally

appeared on Gustafssons blog, it

went viral on social media.Whether its the people, the

culture, or a sight as common as

girls wearing scarves, we forgetabout the beauty because we are

too focused on the problems.

Gustafsson has lived inLebanon and travelled around

the Middle East since 2009.

print edition: 05 january 2014

Documents