KCC polls: A third term for Khaleque?

The Khulna City Corporation (KCC) election will be held from 8am on Monday in 289 polling centres amid tight security measures and in a festive mode, begging the question if the sitting mayor will be reelected.

The possibility arises as BNP is not joining the election and amid the fact the previous two elections saw the Awami League and BNP candidates being the top two contenders.

The voting goes on through around 3,000 electronic voting machines (EVMs) till 4pm.

A total of 2,320 CCTV cameras have been installed both inside and outside 1,732 polling booths.

As many as 535,522 voters, including 268,828 male and 266,698 female, will cast their votes in the KCC polls.

In the KCC polls, five candidates are vying for the mayoral post. They are AL-backed Talukder Abdul Khaleque (boat), Jatiya Party's Shafiqul Islam Modhu (plough), Bangladesh Islami Andolon's Moulana Abdul Awal (hand Fan), Zaker Party's SM Sabbir Hossain (rose) and independent candidate Shafiqur Rahman Mushfiq (table clock).

Incumbent Mayor Khaleque, who also won in 2008, will be eyeing to stay in office. In the last KCC polls in 2018, he defeated his main rival – BNP's Nazrul Islam Monju – by nearly 65,000 votes.

But in 2013, Khaleque lost to BNP-backed Maniruzzaman Moni.

Some 134 candidates are in the race for councillors' posts in 29 general wards and 39 for (women's) reserved seats. Two councillors for wards 13 and 24 have already been elected unopposed.

The BNP has already boycotted the election and expelled nine councillor aspirants. The party is also asking its supporters not to campaign for the expelled candidates and voters to boycott the polls.

AL-endorsed candidate Khaleque recently expressed his concerns about the level of voter turnout.

Jatiya Party's mayor candidate Modhu yesterday said he was unhappy with the election atmosphere.

“If the election is held free and fairly, I'll win,” he said, hoping that there could be 40-42% voter turnout.

A three-tier security measure is in place for the election.

Around 8,300 members of the law enforcement agencies including 4,520 policemen have been deployed in the city. Also, there are 11 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh for the election. Plus, 16 striking forces of the Rapid Action Battalion have been deployed in the KCC polls

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