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Hasina tries woman talk after poll defeat
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's brave face after a heavily publicized local government election last week belied the embarrassing fact confronting her. Independent candidate Selina Hayat Ivy had defeated, against dangerous odds, the official candidate from Hasina's party - a former MP facing trial in five criminal cases, from 17 cases filed against him.
The election for mayor of the newly established Narayanganj City Corporation, one of only eight such municipal bodies in country, was seen as an important pointer as politicking gets underway before parliamentary elections due by March 2014. It also was watched nationally for how successful voters could be in holding off central politicians wielding corrupt authority in their local constituencies.
"I am highly pleased to see a woman come out winning the mayoral post," an "elated" Hasina was reported as saying at a cabinet meeting.
As for the victorious Ivy's opponent, Shamim Osman, Hasina said: "Now he [has] got a clean image through his defeat. All the allegations against him are now gone and his future political career is also bright," The Daily Star reported.
Underlining that point, Hasina effectively ordered the elected Ivy, recognized for her uncorrupt political life, to work with the unelected Osman.
"You two held the top two positions in the election. The other candidates were nowhere near you. You have proved how strong and popular the Awami League is in Narayanganj. Now you have to work together," she told them at a meeting after the election, Daily Star reported.
In winning the poll to be the first head of Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC), Ivy did more than become first woman mayor of such a municipal body. She kept out of office a man who had become synonymous with a darker side of politics in a country that ranked 134th out of 178 in Transparency International's corruption perception list for 2010.
Ivy, a 45-year-old medical graduate and mother of two daughter, is, like Osman, a member of the Awami League - she is vice president of the local Awami city unit - but she ran in the election as an independent. When she headed the Narayanganj municipal government in the eight years to 2009 she rid the area of its reputation as a "crime haven".
The situation was reversed after Hasina's central government came to power in 2009 and Osman, in exile overseas since 2001after the Awami League government lost power, returned to Narayanganj, his base and constituency when a member of parliament.
In April 2009, the Daily Star headlined an article on Osman: "Return of a godfather, N'ganj businesses shudder".
Osman, 50, hails from a family of politicians. His grandfather, Khan Shaheb Osman Ali, was a founding member of the now-ruling Awami League, and his father, AKM Shamsuzzoha, was also an MP. His elder brother, Nasim Osman is an MP with Jatiya Party and his other brother, Selim Osman, is the president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA). Clothing and fabrics are the country's most important export.
Soon after Osman's return in 2009, government of the working-class dormitory suburb of Dhaka was elevated to city corporation status - it was formed in May this year - leading to last week's election. A significant difference is the fund-raising and spending authority of the city corporation, with power over issues such as healthcare administration, city planning and social welfare.
Osman was not, at first, a graceful loser. As voting approached its conclusion, he claimed the election had been "stage-managed" and that he would not have contested the polls if he had realized it earlier. That same afternoon, he had told reporters that if someone else was in his position, Narayanganj would have been "in flames" for what had been done to him. He later lodged a complaint with the Electoral Commission accusing police for siding with Ivy.
The next day, with the results in, Osman backpedaled - his earlier allegations had been "prompted by misinformation". As to claims that he had evidence of vote rigging, he now said: "I lost that evidence as I went for ablution for my prayers yesterday [Sunday]. Please forget about it."
Osman accepted that a lot needed to be learnt from defeat and congratulated the administration and Electoral Commission for free and fair polls. By Thursday, Osman's stance was more aggressive.
"Please inform me, if any of my leaders and activists is threatened. I will visit their houses in the dark of night to issue threats in return. I am good at this. I will ask why they are issuing threats," he told a post election rally of supporters at his home in Narayanganj. "Nobody can stay in Narayanganj if issuing threats does not cease."
The rally was followed by a procession including thousands of people, some of them from outside the area according to local residents, aimed at proving his "supremacy" in the area.
According to Bangladesh Election commission, the final count from 163 centers had Ivy at 180,048 votes with Osman at 78,705 votes. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate Timor Alam Khandaker, who had already withdrawn, received 7,616 votes. Hasina sought to claim credit for the voter turnout, at nearly 70%, although most of those voting rejected her choice for mayor.
"Seventy percent votes in a local government election is quite a feat. This is an Awami League achievement," she said.
Ivy is no political novice - her father, Ali Ahmed Chunka, was the first municipality chairman. But she has no criminal record or history of allegations of corruption against her. Following her win, she pledged to "prioritize" the development of roads, drainage and communication systems.
She will have a fairly "clean" team to work with, as according to affidavits provided by Election Commission at least 20 of 36 councilors-elect have no criminal records, although one was accused in two cases which were eventually withdrawn.
The Awami League's decision to back Osman split the party, with some leaders saying it had made a mistake and SM Akram, the Awami League's Narayanganj district convener, backing Ivy before resigning from the party on October 31, saying he had been undermined by the central party leaders.
Ivy also gained from the last minute withdrawal of BNP candidate Taimur. Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, a member of the BNP's standing committee, said his "boycott" of the elections forced people to "reject the godfather of criminals".
Taimur, who said he withdrew on the order of BNP chief Khaleda Zia, said he had done so because electronic voting machines were being used - they are being introduced at local level before being used in the next parliamentary elections, due by March 14. He also objected to the government's refusal to bring in the army. Three days before the election, Osman claimed a militant attack was going to be instigated by Ivy and Taimur, but Home Minister Sahara Khatun rejected his fears and kept the army in its barracks.
Asia Times Online :: Hasina tries woman talk after poll defeat
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's brave face after a heavily publicized local government election last week belied the embarrassing fact confronting her. Independent candidate Selina Hayat Ivy had defeated, against dangerous odds, the official candidate from Hasina's party - a former MP facing trial in five criminal cases, from 17 cases filed against him.
The election for mayor of the newly established Narayanganj City Corporation, one of only eight such municipal bodies in country, was seen as an important pointer as politicking gets underway before parliamentary elections due by March 2014. It also was watched nationally for how successful voters could be in holding off central politicians wielding corrupt authority in their local constituencies.
"I am highly pleased to see a woman come out winning the mayoral post," an "elated" Hasina was reported as saying at a cabinet meeting.
As for the victorious Ivy's opponent, Shamim Osman, Hasina said: "Now he [has] got a clean image through his defeat. All the allegations against him are now gone and his future political career is also bright," The Daily Star reported.
Underlining that point, Hasina effectively ordered the elected Ivy, recognized for her uncorrupt political life, to work with the unelected Osman.
"You two held the top two positions in the election. The other candidates were nowhere near you. You have proved how strong and popular the Awami League is in Narayanganj. Now you have to work together," she told them at a meeting after the election, Daily Star reported.
In winning the poll to be the first head of Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC), Ivy did more than become first woman mayor of such a municipal body. She kept out of office a man who had become synonymous with a darker side of politics in a country that ranked 134th out of 178 in Transparency International's corruption perception list for 2010.
Ivy, a 45-year-old medical graduate and mother of two daughter, is, like Osman, a member of the Awami League - she is vice president of the local Awami city unit - but she ran in the election as an independent. When she headed the Narayanganj municipal government in the eight years to 2009 she rid the area of its reputation as a "crime haven".
The situation was reversed after Hasina's central government came to power in 2009 and Osman, in exile overseas since 2001after the Awami League government lost power, returned to Narayanganj, his base and constituency when a member of parliament.
In April 2009, the Daily Star headlined an article on Osman: "Return of a godfather, N'ganj businesses shudder".
Osman, 50, hails from a family of politicians. His grandfather, Khan Shaheb Osman Ali, was a founding member of the now-ruling Awami League, and his father, AKM Shamsuzzoha, was also an MP. His elder brother, Nasim Osman is an MP with Jatiya Party and his other brother, Selim Osman, is the president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA). Clothing and fabrics are the country's most important export.
Soon after Osman's return in 2009, government of the working-class dormitory suburb of Dhaka was elevated to city corporation status - it was formed in May this year - leading to last week's election. A significant difference is the fund-raising and spending authority of the city corporation, with power over issues such as healthcare administration, city planning and social welfare.
Osman was not, at first, a graceful loser. As voting approached its conclusion, he claimed the election had been "stage-managed" and that he would not have contested the polls if he had realized it earlier. That same afternoon, he had told reporters that if someone else was in his position, Narayanganj would have been "in flames" for what had been done to him. He later lodged a complaint with the Electoral Commission accusing police for siding with Ivy.
The next day, with the results in, Osman backpedaled - his earlier allegations had been "prompted by misinformation". As to claims that he had evidence of vote rigging, he now said: "I lost that evidence as I went for ablution for my prayers yesterday [Sunday]. Please forget about it."
Osman accepted that a lot needed to be learnt from defeat and congratulated the administration and Electoral Commission for free and fair polls. By Thursday, Osman's stance was more aggressive.
"Please inform me, if any of my leaders and activists is threatened. I will visit their houses in the dark of night to issue threats in return. I am good at this. I will ask why they are issuing threats," he told a post election rally of supporters at his home in Narayanganj. "Nobody can stay in Narayanganj if issuing threats does not cease."
The rally was followed by a procession including thousands of people, some of them from outside the area according to local residents, aimed at proving his "supremacy" in the area.
According to Bangladesh Election commission, the final count from 163 centers had Ivy at 180,048 votes with Osman at 78,705 votes. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate Timor Alam Khandaker, who had already withdrawn, received 7,616 votes. Hasina sought to claim credit for the voter turnout, at nearly 70%, although most of those voting rejected her choice for mayor.
"Seventy percent votes in a local government election is quite a feat. This is an Awami League achievement," she said.
Ivy is no political novice - her father, Ali Ahmed Chunka, was the first municipality chairman. But she has no criminal record or history of allegations of corruption against her. Following her win, she pledged to "prioritize" the development of roads, drainage and communication systems.
She will have a fairly "clean" team to work with, as according to affidavits provided by Election Commission at least 20 of 36 councilors-elect have no criminal records, although one was accused in two cases which were eventually withdrawn.
The Awami League's decision to back Osman split the party, with some leaders saying it had made a mistake and SM Akram, the Awami League's Narayanganj district convener, backing Ivy before resigning from the party on October 31, saying he had been undermined by the central party leaders.
Ivy also gained from the last minute withdrawal of BNP candidate Taimur. Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, a member of the BNP's standing committee, said his "boycott" of the elections forced people to "reject the godfather of criminals".
Taimur, who said he withdrew on the order of BNP chief Khaleda Zia, said he had done so because electronic voting machines were being used - they are being introduced at local level before being used in the next parliamentary elections, due by March 14. He also objected to the government's refusal to bring in the army. Three days before the election, Osman claimed a militant attack was going to be instigated by Ivy and Taimur, but Home Minister Sahara Khatun rejected his fears and kept the army in its barracks.
Asia Times Online :: Hasina tries woman talk after poll defeat
