Editorial
A charged, eventful election
We congratulate the winner
As this newspaper prepared to go to press last night, the candidate of the opposition 18-party alliance at the Gazipur City Corporation elections held a huge lead over the nominee of the ruling Awami League-led 14-party alliance. Our congratulations go to whoever ends up winning the polls.
The Awami League and the BNP developed a high stake in the election. Both the parties' prowess was concentrated on Gazipur to beat each other hands down.
From early morning, the BNP had started leveling allegations of rigging reflecting on the integrity of the conduct of the polls. On a closer scrutiny, however, most of these couldn't stand up to independent verifications. That the proceedings of a local government poll were monitored and observed by as many as 94 international observers is a marker of importance given to a consolidation of the democratic process in Bangladesh.
The voter turnout, which was expected to be around 80 percent early on, has proved to be close to 60 percent. The strong presence of women voters was a notable feature of the election.
The contestants and their supporters became combative on a scale that had not been experienced in the preceding city corporation polls. Just as there was a sense of relief at the passage of the election so is there a concern over the way electoral contests are increasingly coming to a simmering point. They are becoming very nervy affairs.
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