Dhaka, Oct 24 —Six mayor candidates will look to staunchly defend and expose rivals for the Election Commission's televised debate Tuesday evening, just five days shy of Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) election.
Sparks seem sure to fly in the theatre—an open stage of Narayanganj Club—when the two ruling party challengers and the opposition's best bet, joined by three other pretenders, will get one last chance for that decisive edge before the electorate and millions in view from 8:30pm.
The trio has hotly debated before on TV but this is the first time that the 'rank-outsiders' will be under intense media gaze and try to win hearts and minds of the public.
Shamim Osman and Selina Hayat Ivy, second-generation Awami League leaders of this commercial hub, will be primed for the primetime showdown to sway voters who will decide on Oct 30 to elect their representatives to run the city.
The event, to be attended by the chief election commissioner, A T M Shamshul Huda and moderated by bdnews24.com editor-in-chief Toufique Imrose Khalidi, will be beamed live by state-run Bangladesh Television (BTV) and Bangladesh Betar.
bdnews24.com will be live-streaming from 116-year old club to spotlight the sharpening contours of the race to help the constituency make an informed decision.
Ivy, the former municipality chairman and a doctor by training, is looking to recapture the role she once played while Shamim, who appears to have the tacit support of his party, will hope to revive his political fortunes. Taimur Alam Khandaker, a former chief of road transport authority, is a dark horse, who many believe can give the two a run for their money.
The thought of the three candidates grappling to be heard over each other has led hundreds to scramble for details.
Altogether 150 voter representatives will be present at the venue to directly question the candidates. The candidates will also be able to fire questions at each other. The mayoral contenders have confirmed that they will engage in the debate.
"We're receiving a large number of calls after running advertisements in newspapers and on TV," says Mohammad Sharifullah, executive producer of the programme.
Chief election commissioner Huda said the commission wants to give the debate an institutional shape.
"It's a programme to inform the voters," he told bdnews24.com on Monday.
About the bdnews24.com webcast, he said, "It's being organised to give not only the people in Bangladesh, but the expatriates also the opportunity to directly watch the programme."
"Through the debate," the CEC said, "the people will know about the voters' expectations from the candidates and what the competitors want to do."
Sharifullah said preparations to stage the programme have nearly ended.
"People from all classes and professions will represent the selected voters of Narayanganj," he said.
He said the debate will be different from the dialogues held with candidates of Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Barisal City Corporation elections in 2008 and the Chittagong City Corporation election in 2010.
"Though the previous programmes had been telecast, they were based on radio-focused scripts. I hope the upcoming debate will be a fully-fledged TV programme," he added.
Election commissioner M Sakhawat Hussain and secretary to the EC Secretariat Mohammad Sadique will also attend the debate.
From:www.bdnews24.com
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