Dhaka: Information and Communication Technology Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister, Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed Joy, said I can quite confidently say that Awami League will win by a landslide in Barishal and Rajshahi City Corporations’ polls.
Joy, and also the only son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, came up with the prediction in a post on his verified Facebook account on Sunday.
“In Sylhet we are slightly ahead, but it is too close to call,” the post read.
He also wrote: “I would, however, urge my party members, law enforcement and electoral officers to be vigilant for BNP attempts to seize polling centers and stuff ballots in an attempt to blame the Awami League.”
Read the full version of his Facebook post here that has been kept unchanged…
My team commissioned three public opinion surveys for the imminent Barisal, Rajshai and Sylhet city corporation elections. The surveys were conducted throughout this month, July 2018 by an independent research organization, Research Development Center (RDC). Here are the results:
Barisal
Serniabat Sadik Abdullah (AL) – 44.0%
Mujibur Rahman Sarowar (BNP) – 13.1%
Other candidates – 0.8%
Undecided – 23.5%
Refused to answer – 15.9%
The sample size of this survey was 1,241 registered voters.
Rajshahi
Khairuzzaman Liton (AL) – 58.0%
Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul (BNP) – 16.4%
Other candidates – 0.9%
Undecided – 12.3%
Refused to anwer 9.6%
The sample size of this survey was 1,294 registered voters.
Sylhet
Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran (AL) – 33.0%
Ariful Haque Chowdhury (BNP) – 28.1%
Other candidates – 1.3%
Undecided – 23.0%
Refused to answer – 12.6%
The sample size of this survey was 1,196 registered voters.
Results were weighted for gender based on the composition of the voter list for the City Corporations and age distribution for Barisal, Rajshahi and Sylhet Cities from the 2011 Census. Sample was drawn from the addresses registered with the Election Commission through the voter ID registration. Persons included were only individuals who confirmed that they were on the voter list of the City Corporations. The margin of error is approximately +/- 2.5%.
I have been conducting our opinion polls with RDC for the past five years. I have found their methods and results to be the most accurate. Of course, with the campaigns in full swing until midnight last night the results may vary slightly from these polls, which were conducted over the past month. However, I can quite confidently say that in Barisal and Rajshahi Awami League will win by a landslide. In Sylhet we are slightly ahead, but it is too close to call.
The BNP keeps making all sorts of complaints, but the fact is that it has lost all popularity. The Awami League on the other hand, has gained more and more popularity over the years. The BNP is no longer an electoral threat to the Awami League.
I would, however, urge my party members, law enforcement and electoral officers to be vigilant for BNP attempts to seize polling centers and stuff ballots in an attempt to blame the Awami League. You have all heard recorded phone conversations of BNP leaders plotting exactly this in the Gazipur elections. As their candidates talk to voters during the campaign they realize they have no chance of winning, so they are actively attempting to frame the Awami League in an attempt to make these elections controversial.
The voting in three city corporations– Rajshahi, Barishal and Sylhet- is scheduled to begin at 8am on Monday (tomorrow) and continue till 4pm.
