All set for CCC polls

CHITTAGONG, Apr 27: All preparations to hold a free, fair and violence-free election have been completed for election to Chittagong City Corporation tomorrow (Tuesday).
 A total of 291 candidates are vying for one mayor, 41 ward councillors and 14 reserved councillors for female candidates exclusively. The councillor posts, however, are open for both male and female candidates.
Twelve candidates are competing for the mayoral post, 217 candidates for councillor posts and 62 candidates for reserved seats of women councillors in the city of over 6.0 million people. There is no female contestant for the mayoral post.
The 12 mayoral candidates are M Manjur Alam (orange), AJM Nasir Uddin (elephant), Solaiman Seth (dish antenna), Professor Arif Moinuddin (bus), Mujibul Huq Shukkur( peacock), MA Matin (spindle), Owais Hossain Bhuiyan (table clock), Shafiul Alam (Hilsa), Gazi Md Alauddin (telescope), Syed Sazzad Zoha (cricket bat), Saifuddin Ahmed Robi (flask) and Abul Kalam Azad (match box).
The major mayoral candidates include outgoing mayor of Chittagong City Corporation M Manjur Alam under the banner of Chittagong Development Movement (backed by Bangladesh Nationalist Party), AJM Nasir Uddin under the banner of Nagorik Committee (backed by ruling Awami League) and Solaiman Alam Seth backed by Jatiya Party (Ershad).
All the candidates had about 40 busy days of campaign until 12.00 am on Monday night.
During the last campaign on Sunday, two major mayoral candidates -- AJM Nasir and M Manjurul Alam -- claimed they will be victorious in Tuesday's election.
Assistant Returning Officer (media) of Chittagong Shafiqur Rahman said there are a total of 18,13,449 voters in the Chittagong City Corporation. Of them the number of male voters is 9, 37,053 and that of female voters is 8, 76,396,
According to the EC, the city has been divided into six zones: Bandar zone: 3, 55,535 voters, Chandgaon zone: 2, 92.002, Panchlaish zone: 3, 33,000, Double Mooring zone: 3, 94,771, Pahartali zone: 2, 41,567 and Kotwali zone: 2, 31,708.
He said the voters will cast their votes in 719 polling centres. But of these, 595 polling centres are risky. Seven hundred nineteen presiding officers will head the polling centres. The polling booths will be headed by 4,906 assistant presiding officers or booth heads and they will be assisted by 9,812 polling officers. A total of 15,437 election officials have been employed by the EC to conduct the polls, he said.
He said that out of the 591 risky centres, 15 centres have been brought under close circuit camera. The decision has been taken after a meeting with the law enforcement agencies on Sunday. Web camera will be installed in those 15 centres, he said.
The election materials include 11, 592 stamp pads, 13,000 irremovable ink pots, 8,000 official seals, 15,000 marking seals, 1500 brush seals, 2500 hessian bags, and 800 red-gala ballot box, the ARO said.
Returning Officer Md Abdul Baten told the media in his office today that all preparations have been completed for holding a free, fair and violent-free City Corporation election. The first election to the Chittagong City Corporation was held in 1994 and this is the fifth election of the CCC.
His office has been shifted from the regional election office to Chittagong MA Aziz Stadium in the city. Election materials from the Stadium Complex have started reaching the polling centres and it is scheduled to be completed by today (Monday) evening.
The Stadium Complex is being used as temporary election office from April 24 to April 29 for distribution of election materials, counting of the ballot papers and announcement of the election results.
"We are fully ready to hold a free and fair election. Ballot papers and all other essential items are being handed over to the presiding officers today. By this evening all the election materials will reach the centres.
He said that he has employed 15, 437 elections plus 10 per cent extra officials and the total number of election officials stands at 16, 937 personnel.
Security of the polling centres and the voters has been ensured so that rowdy elements cannot create any disturbance during balloting and counting of votes.
In the election, about 20,711 members of the police and Ansar will be on full-time duty during and after the election. Besides, 30 platoons of BGB members, three platoons of the Coast Guard and two teams of RAB members in every ward will be on mobile duty under a magistrate. Over 500 members of RAB will be on mobile duty from morning to night on the poll day.
"The members of the Army will be called, if and when necessary," he said adding that there are 14 striking force teams and 10 judicial magistrates including 182 magistrates.
Teams with the police, APBN and Ansar members are deployed in every centre while another 41 separate teams have been deployed in each of the 41 wards. Thirty platoons of BGB and 90 striking force under one magistrate will be on mobile duty.
Additional police commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (crime) Engineer Bonoj Kumar Majumder said they have taken highest security measures on the occasion of the CCC election. Any untoward incident including capture of polling centres and hijacking of ballot boxes will be strongly handled.
Movement of all kinds of vehicles including taxicab, auto-rickshaw, microbus, jeep, pickup, private car, bus truck, tempo, easy bike, launch and speedboat will remain prohibited from 12.0 am of April 27 until 12.0 am of April 27, he said. Motorcycle plying from 12.0 am of 25 April to 12.0 am of 29 April also remains banned. There is, however, no ban on plying of vehicles on the inter-district highways.
Meanwhile, M Manjur Alam has announced a 54-point election manifesto claiming most of his 56-point election manifesto for the 2010 CCC election were implemented while some of the long-term major projects including the new canal digging from Bahaddarhat to Karnaphuli River remain unfulfilled.
"One term is not enough for a mayor to mitigate the longstanding water logging problem. So I want another term to complete the tasks lying ahead. I hope the voters will vote me again to the mayoral office so that I can complete the projects I have undertaken," he said.
AJM Nasir Uddin, a ruling party leader and contender for the mayor's post said he is competent enough to resolve the water logging problem as he has his track record of accomplishing many successful projects including those in the sports arena.
He said millions joined his election campaign while the main contender is facing problems in nominating his polling agents. He said the main contender has been spreading panic among the voters that the ballot boxes will be hijacked.
"The Election Commission has taken stringent measures to hold a free and fair election and we all should help the EC in this regard. I would accept any result of the CCC election," he said.
The CCC has a budget worth Tk 11.96 billion for the fiscal year 2015. Of the amount, Tk 5.90 billion is expected from the government coffer in the form of development grants. In the FY'14, the original budget was Tk 11.06 billion, of which Tk 5.07 billon was targeted as the government's grants. But the actual budgetary expenditure came down to Tk 4.99 billion.  
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