Talukder Abdul Khaleque, the mayoral candidate nominated by the ruling Awami League (AL), was elected mayor in Khulna City Corporation elections, defeating Islami Andolan Bangladesh’s Maulana Abdul Awal by a large margin.
With 60.4% of the vote, Awami League-backed mayoral candidate Talukder Abdul Khaleque (boat) has been elected mayor of Khulna City Corporation (KCC) for the third time.
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For the position of mayor in the Khulna City Corporation, five candidates contested. 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 Mushtaq (table clock) were the mayoral candidates.
Abdul Khaleque wins by 60.4%
In the Khulna elections, AL candidate Talukder Abdul Khaleque defeated IAB candidate Maulana Abdul Awal by a margin of 94,761 votes. Talukder Abdul Khaleque (boat) received 154,825 votes (60.4%), while Maulana Abdul Awal (hand Fan) received 60,061 votes (23.4%).
Among other candidates, Md Shafiqul Islam Madhu of Jatiya Party received 18,074 votes, SM Sabbir Hossain of Zaker Party received 6,096 votes, and independent candidate SM Shafiqur Rahman received 17,218 votes.
Monday evening, returning officer Md Alauddin announced the preliminary results at the Khulna Shilpakola academy.
In addition, there were 136 candidates for councilor positions in 29 general constituencies and 30 candidates for reserved seats.
Voter turnout
The participation rate in KCC election was 47.88%. There are 535,529 registered electors in the Khulna City Corporation. Among them, 266,696 are female and 268,833 male voters. In 1,732 voting booths across 289 polling locations, voting was conducted using electronic voting machines (EVMs).
At 8 a.m., voting began for the 31 divisions of the Khulna City Corporation (KCC) and closed peacefully at 4 p.m., with no reports of violence.
A smooth, orderly and unhindered voting process in KCC
A total of 2,320 CCTV cameras were stationed inside and outside of the 1,732 polling stations in Khulna. The Election Commission (EC) used CCTV cameras at its headquarters to monitor the Khulna City Corporation elections.
In Khulna, approximately 8,300 members of law enforcement agencies, including 4,520 police officers, were deployed. In addition, eleven Border Guard Bangladesh platoons were present during the election. Furthermore, 16 striking forces of the Rapid Action Battalion were mobilized in the KCC polls.
Election Commissioner Md Ahsan Habib Khan praised the smooth, orderly, and unhindered voting environment in the elections for the Khulna City Corporation.
Monirzzaman Talukdar, joint secretary of the Election Commission, stated that the voting process for the Khulna City Corporation was conducted fairly and without incident at all of the polling stations he observed.
Moniruzzaman said: “Around one-third of the votes were cast within a span of three to four hours. Based on this, we can assume that the voting process was conducted fairly and smoothly. No untoward issues have been reported.” The joint secretary also mentioned that although the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were a bit slow in several places, it did not cause any significant delays.
He made these remarks during his visit to the Khulna Collegiate School centre in Ward No 17 of the city on Monday afternoon.
Moniruzzaman further added: “There have been no reports of violence during this election. All law enforcement personnel are on high alert. The security of the polling stations is being ensured by the Police-Ansar. Additionally, we have deployed executive magistrates and judicial magistrates besides members of RAB, BGB.”
The re-election of Talukder Abdul Khaleque as the mayor of Khulna City Corporation reflects the trust and confidence placed in his leadership. With his victory, Khaleque is poised to continue his dedicated service to the people of Khulna, working towards the development and prosperity of the city. The re-election reaffirms the democratic process and showcases the collective voice of the people in shaping the future of their municipality.
