Star Report

The polling atmosphere was eerily festive. Almost too peaceful to be true.

Election posters flooded every nook and cranny of the capital. Supporters of the candidates, mostly from the Awami League, were seen outside the polling centres. Law enforcers patrolled the streets while peace prevailed.

Yet, an astonishingly poor number of voters turned up at the centres in the high-voltage Dhaka city polls, dampening the spirit common in elections in the country.

Almost all the polling agents at the centres were for the mayoral and councillor candidates chosen by the AL.

The Daily Star correspondents could hardly spot polling agents or supporters of the BNP candidates at the centres. It was as if an invisible force made them disappear on the election day.

Unofficial results show that both the AL mayor candidates won the city polls by a big margin.

Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, AL mayor candidate for Dhaka South City Corporation, bagged 424,595 votes, while his rival Ishraque Hossain of the BNP got

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