Information Minister and Awami League joint general secretary. Hasan Mahmud said that the municipal elections are being held in a fair and peaceful manner with the spontaneous participation of the people. The second round of municipal elections on Saturday also saw a large turnout, with more than 70 per cent voting in some municipalities and more than 61 per cent overall. Even though there were many fears among the people about EVM, the turnout in the EVM vote was more than 57 percent.
He said there have been a couple of isolated incidents in the past, which are by no means desirable, but overall voter turnout was widespread. In India, 19 people lost their lives in the 2018 panchayat elections. Compared to that, this election has been much more peaceful in Bangladesh.
The information minister said this while exchanging views with journalists on contemporary issues in the meeting room of the Information Ministry at the Secretariat on Monday.
The minister said that 46 candidates of Awami League have won this election in the second phase as well. The Awami League got more than 60 percent of the vote and the BNP got 18 percent. In the first round of municipal elections, only 2 candidates of BNP were elected, this time 4 candidates.
The minister said the statement made by the BNP secretary general after the municipal elections was normal. They are giving this statement to cover their weakness and protect their face after being rejected by the people in the first and second round of elections. The BNP will benefit if it adopts their action plan by accepting the fact that they have become isolated from the people and their organization has become weak at the upazila-municipality level.
Regarding the rebel candidates, the Information Minister said that a decision has already been taken regarding the rebel candidates of the Awami League as per the constitution of the party. The decision will be taken accordingly for those who are still rebel candidates.
Replying to a question from reporters about Mirza Abdul Quader, the minister said that Mirza Abdul Quader was elected by a huge margin of votes. His main rival, the BNP and Jamaat candidates, received three times more votes than the combined vote. Abdul Quader Mirza deserves congratulations for this.
Replying to a question, the Information Minister said that Al-Qaeda has no presence in Bangladesh. When the foreign minister of a country like the United States makes this statement unknowingly, it is very sad. The government has strongly protested through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Replying to another question, the Information Minister said the BNP, which was rejected by the people, and some other groups in the country were conspiring against the government. In the end, they also took the prayer meeting as part of the conspiracy and occasion. This is really sad and they have conspired like this before. But there will be no benefit in doing these.
