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 
------- 
 
¶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