Several mayoral candidates contesting the Cumilla City Corporation election have raised allegations against each other of trying to influence voters with money.
Campaigning ended in the early hours of Tuesday after an 18-day run. Voters are now gearing up for the polls slated to open on Wednesday morning, reports bdnews24.com.
“Monirul Haque Sakku [an expelled BNP leader who won the last two elections and is contesting this time as an independent candidate] is distributing millions in black money to influence the election result. He is ruining the voting environment. Sakku even tried to buy my employees. The people of Cumilla have already rejected Sakku. After losing public support, Sakku is now relying on black money," said Arfanul Haque Rifat, the candidate for the ruling Awami League mayoral.
He is spreading black money all over the city, Rifat said. “But I will not complain to anyone about it. The people will resist them.”
Sakku said that he did not consider Rifat as his competitor.
“Rifat is an MP's nominee. He is nothing. The local MP is doing everything. MP AKM Bahauddin Bahar is my rival. Rifat has lost his way and is now making false and fabricated allegations against me. I did not distribute black money anywhere. The people of Cumilla understand everything and they cannot be fooled by propaganda. I hope the people will appreciate my past work."
Independent mayoral candidate Nizam Uddin Kaiser has also alleged that black money is being used to influence the election.
“Rifat and Sakku are distributing black money. The people of Cumilla can see things clearly. They have made the decision to vote for a different candidate this time. The people will cast votes for the horse symbol. They have boycotted the corrupt and the drug dealers.”
Md Shahedunnabi Chowdhury, returning officer for the election, said, “Campaigning ended at midnight yesterday. In the meantime, our overall preparations for the polls have ended. Voting materials will be delivered to the voting centres by Tuesday. Hopefully, it will be a free and fair election. No one will be spared in case of any irregularities.”
Law enforcement officials started taking charge after the campaigns ended at midnight on Monday.
The district police banned the movement of motorcycles in the city from 12 am until Thursday. Only journalists and those engaged in emergency services are exempted from the ban.
"These decisions have been taken to hold a fair election," Cumilla Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar Circle) Sohan Sarkar said.
Cumilla Superintendent of Police Md Farooq Ahmed said that 3,608 members of law enforcement will be involved in the city election.
Cumilla DC Mohammad Kamrul Hasan said, “We held a meeting to decide how to make the election fair. We are moving forward accordingly. I am giving utmost importance to everything related to the city election.”
Voting will take place in 105 polling stations from 8 am to 4 pm on Wednesday. There are over 200,000 voters in 27 wards.
In addition to the five candidates for the post of mayor, 36 candidates are contesting for the post of reserve councillor and a total of 108 candidates are contesting for the post of councillor in the general ward.
Electronic Voting Machines will be used for the Cumilla City Corporation polls.
The last Cumilla city election was held on Mar 30, 2017. The elected representatives took office on May 17 of that year. Their terms will end on May 16 of this year.