FBCCI polls held amid festivity

The biennial election (2015-17) to the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) board of directors was held on Saturday amid great enthusiasm and festivity.
The voting started at 9.0 am and ended almost peacefully at 5.0 pm except a brief scuffle between two groups in the morning.
Of total 2,202 votes (chamber and association groups jointly), 1,951 votes were cast. From the chamber group, 418 votes were cast out of total 436 while 1,533 were cast out of 1,766 from the association group. The turnout was around 89 per cent.
The elected and nominated directors will elect the president, the first vice-president and the vice-president of the FBCCI from among themselves from this term on May 25.  The result will be announced on May 28.
"The voting was held peacefully. I hope the new leaders of the FBCCI will work for the benefit of the country's businesses," chairman of FBCCI Election Board Prof Md Ali Ashraf MP told journalists after the polls at the apex trade body office.
"Excitement is common in an election," he said while replying to a query about the clash on the election day.  
The FBCCI board will be formed with 52 directors, of which 32 directors will be elected directly. The remaining 20 directors will be nominated from the country's different chambers and associations.
A total of 64 candidates had contested the polls against the post of 32 directors from three panels of chamber and association groups.  
The panels Swadhinata Baboshayee Parishad (SBP) led by incumbent first vice-president of FBCCI Monowara Hakim Ali, Baboshayee Oikya Parishad (BOP) led by Syed Moazzam Hossain and Unnayan Parishad (UP) led by Abdul Matlub Ahmed contested the apex trade body's election.
Jakia Sultana Mithila, an independent candidate, also contested in the polls.
Processions by two groups to influence voters to cast votes in favour of their candidates created some inconveniences during voting hours.
The tussle started when the supporters of Barrister Jakir Hossain and Rabbani-Jabbar were locked in clashes at about 10.00 am while trying to influence voters to cast votes in favour of their respective candidates.
"They were locked in scuffle to influence voters. They tried to drive each other out," a voter told the FE.
Following a request by the FBCCI election board, police charged batons on them, brought the situation under control and arrested 10 persons from the spot. But there was no report of serious injuries.  
"The FBCCI works for the welfare of the country's people and the interests of the businessmen. Win or defeat is not a matter in this election. I hope all will work together for the interest of the businessmen," Salman F Rahman, former president of the FBCCI, told journalists.  
The counting started at 7.0 pm and was going on until filing of the report at 7.30 pm on the day.   
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com