Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08DHAKA834
2008-08-05 10:13:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Dhaka
Cable title:  

AWAMI LEAGUE SWEEPS LOCAL ELECTIONS THAT ARE FIRST

Tags:  PGOV KDEM PHUM PINR IINS BG 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3497
OO RUEHCI
DE RUEHKA #0834/01 2181013
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 051013Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7185
INFO RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 8556
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 2285
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 9795
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0765
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA PRIORITY 1400
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000834 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2018
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM PINR IINS BG
SUBJECT: AWAMI LEAGUE SWEEPS LOCAL ELECTIONS THAT ARE FIRST
UNDER CARETAKER GOVERNMENT

REF: A. DHAKA 814

B. DHAKA 813

C. DHAKA 812

D. DHAKA 781

Classified By: CDA a.i. Geeta Pasi. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)

------
SUMMARY
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000834

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2018
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM PINR IINS BG
SUBJECT: AWAMI LEAGUE SWEEPS LOCAL ELECTIONS THAT ARE FIRST
UNDER CARETAKER GOVERNMENT

REF: A. DHAKA 814

B. DHAKA 813

C. DHAKA 812

D. DHAKA 781

Classified By: CDA a.i. Geeta Pasi. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) The Awami League stormed to victory in city and
municipal elections on 8/4, the first vote under a Caretaker
Government that has made cleaning up Bangladesh's
graft-addled politics its central mission. Embassy election
observers reported generally minor problems during the vote
and none of the violence that often marred polls in the past.
The observers also noted some concerns about the transparency
of the count. Perhaps the most stunning victor was the Awami
League mayor of Sylhet, who was reelected by a huge margin
despite being jailed by the Caretaker Government on graft
charges. The big loser was the Bangladesh Nationalist Party
(BNP),which lost its mayoral grip on three major cities.
Although the party and its alliance partners boycotted the
elections to protest the imprisonment on corruption charges
of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, several BNP politicians
ran anyway and were trounced. The election outcome raised
questions about public support for the anti-graft campaign.
It also left unanswered whether the BNP would participate in
the all-important Parliamentary elections scheduled for
December.

-------------- --------------
SOME GLITCHES, BUT NEW VOTER LIST PASSES FIRST TEST
-------------- --------------


2. (SBU) The local elections on August 4 were the first under
the Caretaker Government and came fast on the heels of the
completion of a new voter registration list that included
photos of 80.5 million people. The veracity of voter rolls
was a perennial issue in Bangladesh's bare-knuckled politics,
and compiling the new list was the marquee project undertaken
by a reconstituted Election Commission to clean-up the
electoral system. About two dozen Embassy staff observers
reported a smattering of generally minor problems during the
vote, many of which were resolved as the day wore on. Some
polling stations, for example, asked people to bring their
voter registration cards even though they were not required

to cast ballots. The observers also reported some of the
photos on the voter list were not clear. In some polling
stations, Embassy observers noted, domestic election
observers were barred from viewing the ballot counting. The
voting, which took place under State of Emergency regulations
and a large law-enforcement presence, was peaceful. (Note:
International observers will meet on August 6 to review their
findings. End note.)

--------------
STRONG AWAMI LEAGUE SHOWING
--------------


3. (SBU) The headline races were for mayor of four of
Bangladesh's six major cities: Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and
Barisal. According to unofficial results published in the
local media, the Awami League mayor of Sylhet was reelected
by a more than three-to-one margin over his nearest rival
despite being in jail on corruption charges. Awami League
candidates won in Barisal and were winning in Khulna and
Rajshahi; the outgoing mayors in all three cities were from
the BNP. The Awami League also won eight of nine mayoral
races in municipalities, which are far smaller than the
cities, with the BNP winning the remaining seat. According to
the Election Commission, turnout for the city polls ranged
from 75 percent in Sylhet to 93% in Barisal.


4. (SBU) Mohammad Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, the office secretary for
the BNP, attributed his party's poor showing to its boycott
of the vote to protest the continued incarceration of Khaleda
Zia on graft allegations. (Note: Although local elections are
nominally non-partisan, candidates nonetheless identify
themselves with their political parties. End note.) Tofail
Ahmed, a Presidum member of the Awami League, said voters
were turning to his party as an alternative to the BNP, which
formed the last elected government, and the military-backed
Caretaker Government that came to power when Bangladesh
teetered on the brink of chaos amid political violence. The
Awami League decided not to boycott the local elections after
its leader, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was released

DHAKA 00000834 002 OF 002


from jail to get medical treatment abroad despite her ongoing
graft trial.


5. (SBU) In Rajshahi, a perenial BNP stronghold, AHM
Khairuzzaman Liton was elected the city's first Awami League
mayor. Having received his party's blessing, he won the
support of the Awami League faithful as well as others who
could not choose between several BNP candidates, none of whom
received official party backing because of the boycott. In
Khulna, Awami League candidate Talukder Abdul Khaleque was
ahead of BNP rival and acting Mayor Moniruzzaman Moni with
194 of 239 polling centers reporting; the BNP incumbent of 17
years was in jail and did not run. In Barisal, Awami League
candidate Shawkat Hossain Hiron squeaked by Sharfuddin Ahmed
Santu of the Progressive Democratic Party, which was created
in 2007 by politicians who supported the Caretaker
Government's reform efforts. According to local media, during
the tense vote count Hiron and his supporters alleged that
officials were trying to rig the vote in favor of Santu; an
Embassy staffer in Barisal said that at one point members of
the paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion ordered domestic
election observers to leave the vote counting.

--------------
WHITHER ANTI-GRAFT CAMPAIGN?
--------------


6. (SBU) Surely the landslide reelection of Sylhet Mayor
Badruddin Ahmed Kamran came as a rude shock to the Caretaker
Government, which jailed him on corruption charges. With all
polling centers reporting, the Awami League's Kamran had
115,436 votes and his nearest competitor, AFM Kamal, lagged
far behind with 32,097, according to the respected Daily Star
newspaper. Although Kamran is widely viewed as corrupt, his
down-to-earth reputation endeared him to voters, local
observers said. The filing of charges against him by the
Anti-Corruption Commission just days before the election also
played into claims of a government conspiracy against his
candidacy. Faruk Mahmud Chowdhury, secretary of the civil
society group Shujon, said that Sylhet voters followed their
emotions over their conscience. An Embassy election observer
saw a rifle-toting, uniformed policeman shout with joy when
he discovered Kamran was ahead at the polling station where
he was stationed. When asked to explain his behavior, the
policeman said that despite allegations of large-scale
corruption Kamran was still a good man who would talk to
street beggars and other common people.

--------------
COMMENT: ON TO DECEMBER
--------------


7. (C) Despite some hiccups, the city and municipal voting
show that the Election Commission's hard work in compiling a
photo-based election roll and an updated electoral rules has
paid off. Organizing nationwide Parliamentary elections in
December and upazilla (county) elections in October appears
imminently doable. Far less clear is whether Bangladeshis are
listening to the Caretaker Government's exhortations to
choose clean politicians. So too, is whether the BNP and its
alliance partners will contest the Parliamentary election and
thereby boost chances it will be viewed as free, fair and
credible. The BNP, after loosing four key mayoral races, may
decide that election boycotts are not the best path back to
power. Alternatively, it might conclude that the political
cards are stacked against it -- BNP leaders frequently say
they believe Caretaker Government officials favor the Awami
League -- and remain recalcitrant. Ultimately, the decision
will be made by Khaleda Zia, who is in talks with the
Government over terms of her release and that of her
imprisoned and ailing son, Tarique Rahman. Post will continue
to urge all political players to make compromises and support
electoral reforms to ensure that what will likely be a
technically sound national election in December is not an
empty exercise.
Pasi