Document writer’s voting battle in Chatkhil: Awami League wins 7 seats, BNP 3

❐ District Correspondent

After a long 14-year hiatus, the much-awaited election of the executive committee of the Document Writers Association of Chatkhil Upazila Sub-Registrar Office in Noakhali has finally been completed.

The voting campaign lasted from 9 am to 9 pm on Saturday, June 20th.

Each of the association’s 79 total voters (100%) came to the center to exercise their right to vote, which demonstrates the intense interest among local politics and voters.

The last time this association held an election was in 2012. After that, for a long time, there was intense anger among the general members that no election could be held due to the formation of pocket committees with the ‘DO letter’ (request letter) of the local MP. This time, that anger was expressed through the ballot.

Awami League surprises, BNP gets the presidency post

A total of 29 candidates contested this election against 11 posts. Although Jamaat-e-Islami did not have any candidates in the election, the fight between the two main political camps was worth watching.

Analysis of the results shows that despite the ban on activities, the Awami League-backed panel made a big surprise. They won 7 out of 11 posts in the executive committee. However, the most important post of president went to the BNP.

On the other hand, the Awami League-backed candidate won the general secretary post after a fierce competition. In addition, BNP-backed candidates won 3 of the remaining posts and Islami Andolan Bangladesh-backed candidates won 1.

The association’s convener and Chief Election Commissioner Abdul Matin announced the final results in the afternoon after the counting.

The main attractions of the voting ground were as follows:

President: BNP-backed GM Omar Faruk won with 45 votes. His nearest rival Shafiul Bashar Sheikh got 34 votes.

• General Secretary: In this mega fight of 7 people, Awami League-backed Md. Swapan Patwari was dramatically elected by getting only 22 votes. His closest rival Alamgir Hossain got 16 votes and Monir Hossain Mahi got 14 votes.
• Senior Vice President: Mahbubul Abrar won a huge victory by getting 50 votes.
• Vice President: Md. Abul Kalam was elected by getting 42 votes.
• Assistant General Secretary: Md. Abdur Rahim won by getting 39 votes.
• Organizing Secretary: Mizanur Rahman was elected by getting 43 votes.
• Treasurer and Office Secretary: Imam Hossain Murad (36 votes) was elected as Treasurer and Anisur Rahman Sajeeb (46 votes) was elected as Office Secretary.

Executive Member: The top 3 candidates who received the highest number of votes out of 5 were elected. They are Nuruzzaman (54 votes), Rahmat Ullah (42 votes) and Abdul Mannan Kawal (40 votes).

A pledge to work together, forgetting party affiliations

After a long decade, such a festive vote was witnessed among the candidates and their supporters at the Chatkhil Sub-Registrar office premises. After these ‘mixed’ results of the election, the newly elected representatives have expressed their determination to forget their party identities and work together shoulder to shoulder with everyone.

This new executive committee has made a firm commitment to protect the interests of ordinary members, increase mutual cooperation among document writers, and remain united, regardless of party affiliation, for the overall development of the association.