Awami League loses crucial mayor election in B’desh

In another poll setback to Bangladesh’s ruling Awami League, the party lost its fifth mayoral election in two months when it was routed on Sunday in its stronghold of Gazipur by the opposition BNP, ahead of next year’s general elections. 

Main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of former prime minister Khaleda Zia took the mayor seat at Gazipur, the largest corporation in the country, with a margin of 1,06,577 votes. 

‘I declare M A Mannan elected unofficially,’ the returning officer announced the name of the winning candidate as the counting of votes was completed early today morning. 

‘The margin of Mannan’s victory over Awami League’s Ajmat Ullah Khan was 1,06,577 votes,’ he added. 

The rout in suburban Gazipur, known to be a stronghold of Awami League headed by premier Sheikh Hasina, follows the debacle in the four city corporations of Barisal, Khulna, Rajshahi and Sylhet in June where the incumbent ruling party mayors were defeated by their BNP rivals.