The last round of stormy campaign is in full pace for 9th parliamentary elections of Bangladesh scheduled for December 29 as zero hour of December 28 is the last time-point of canvassing. Contesting candidates in the upcoming parliamentary election have until 12:00 am of Sunday to wrap up their campaigns.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has imposed a ban on movement of some types of vehicles across the country, from Sunday midnight till the nationwide polling on Monday. One of the 300 constituencies has been rescheduled due to the death of a candidate belong to grand alliance.
None will be allowed to convene, hold or attend any public meeting, and no person will be allowed to organise or join any procession within the area of any constituency after 27th midnight. The restrictions will continue till the next forty eight-hours since the completion of polling, according to a news release of the EC.
As of the Representation of the People Order (RPO), any violation of the restrictions is punishable by a minimum of two years of rigorous imprisonment which might be extended to seven years, and also by fines. The EC news release also urged all to abide by the instructions.
According to the amended RPO, the original schedule for the end of campaigns had been 8:00am of December 27, but the Commission extended the time limit by 16 hours.
The vehicles are baby taxis, auto rickshaws, taxi cabs, jeeps, pick up vans, cars, buses, trucks, human haulers locally known as 'tempos', launches, speedboats and all other types of motorised water vehicles. The ban, however, will not be effective on the highways. In the metropolitan areas, a ban on movement of motorbikes will be in effect from midnight of December 27 till midnight of December 31.
The ban will not be applicable to the movement of vehicles transporting election observers and journalists, both international and domestic who will have legal identity cards, to vehicles carrying law enforcers, to ambulances, and to vehicles used for providing utility services. The ban can also be relaxed for vehicles used by election candidates and their election agents, albeit with permissions from returning officers.
On December 26, Bangladesh Awami League (AL) had organised its central election campaign rally at historic Paltan Maidan in the capital city Dhaka, and the election campaign of Awami League-led grand alliance for 9th parliament election will be formally ended by organising a rally at Lal Dhidgi of Chittagong, the port city of the Country.
On the other hand Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led four-party alliance is going to bring the curtain down of its election campaign on December 27 through a grand rally at the same place in Dhaka.
At the Paltan rally AL President Sheikh Hasina said her grand electoral alliance wants to bring a change to the country to establish a rule of honest people and economic freedom for the people, with a popular mandate.
"We want to restore democracy and establish economic freedom for the people of Bangladesh through the upcoming election, and for that change is needed. We want a rule of honest people, not politics of criminality, extortion and corruption. We want peace, not criminal activities, we want security for the people, not militancy," Hasina said.
While Sheikh Hasina was addressing in the grand rally, Khaleda Zia was engaged in election campaign in Dhaka City till 10pm. Khaleda Zia asked voters to vote for her four-party alliance to save the country.
It should be noted that AL president Sheikh Hasina and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia had addressed at Chittagong in the last parliamentary elections held in 1991, 1996 and 2001, but this year BNP chief did not give any presence in Chittagong, which is a talked about issue in the event of 9th parliamentary election.
In true sense, December of this year is full of vacation and festivity for City-dwellers, especially for the Dhaka-dwellers; as they enjoyed Eid festival from December 7 for a week, the Victory Day and now enjoying Christmas along with two days of weekend and a holiday for poll.
The impact of poll-day measures taken by EC and other concerned authority are being observed in the city life. Most of the people belong to the rural Bangladesh had already been left for their ancestral home. The maximum shops of kitchen market are fallen bared as the owners are gone away for vote. Vehicles movement is low in comparison to the daily experience of traffic congestion. New posters and banners replaced the fortnight old election communication tools any way. Now count down has started for the vote day.
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