Mohiuddin was leading with 204,437 votes in 338 out of the 577 centres, with his nearest rival ruling alliance-supported candidate Mir Nasir trailing with 142,491 votes when the last report came at 3:00am.

Thousands of enthusiastic people took to the streets to celebrate what appeared like a certain victory for Mohiuddin. They danced, honked horns, hugged each other, chanted slogans and flashed V-signs in raucous celebrations.

"People have foiled all conspiracies to snatch the election results," said Nagorik Committee candidate Mohiuddin late last night, referring to the initial delay in the announcement of the election results.

Earlier, thousands of opposition Awami League (AL) supporters thronged the office of the Returning Officer (RO) in the port city after announcement of election results suddenly stopped at around 9:30pm. The results announcement stopped as Mir Nasir's polling agents refused to sign result sheets.

The RO's office resumed announcing the results at 10:30pm following tremendous pressure from the AL leaders and supporters who laid siege to the office. Mohiuddin himself headed the protest.

Mohiuddin's supporters vandalised Chittagong Circuit House, said sources in the police who were standing helplessly.

The Election Commission (EC) was clearly annoyed with the pause in the results announcement. EC officials in Dhaka repeatedly phoned the RO to know the reason for the silence.

After the mostly peaceful elections, Mohiuddin's supporters brought out victory processions at around 9:00pm as they collected results from their agents, which showed a clear lead for Mohiuddin.

The AL and Nagorik Committee leaders exerted pressure on the RO's office set up at the Gymnasium Complex of the MA Aziz Stadium to be prompt in announcing the election results. They also enquired about the reason for the delay in announcing the results.

AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil along with senior party leaders last night met the EC officials in Dhaka and asked them to direct the RO's office in Chittagong to expedite the results announcement.

Law-enforcers cordoned off Mir Nasir's house opposite to Chittagong Circuit House as thousands of Mohiuddin supporters were parading down the nearby roads in Kazir Dewri Mor, Chittagong Club and Tiger Pass.

The Nagorik Committee supporters were chanting slogans in small processions in different parts of the city until 1:00am.

THE VOTING
Earlier, the voting was held amid tight security with some stray incidents of violence and allegations of false balloting.

The polls were marked by baton charge by the police and army, clash between supporters of the two main mayoral aspirants and capture of more than a dozen polling stations.

The voters complained of slow pace of polling and harassment of voters in various centres, which they blamed on the inefficiency of the polling officers.

The supporters of Mir Nasir threw stones at the vehicle of Mohiuddin in city's Solokbahar area in the afternoon. Mohiuddin, however, left the scene unhurt amid cracker blasts by the alliance men.

The Nagorik Committee filed a complaint with the returning officer about rigging in 84 centres, while the ruling alliance said 71 centres witnessed such irregularities.

The Election Commission, however, denied the allegation of large-scale irregularities and said the election was held peacefully and in a free and fair manner.

The BNP-Jamaat dominated Chawkbazar, Polytechnic Institute, Nasirabad and Chandgaon areas witnessed incidents of violence. The ruling alliance's hooligans allegedly wrested control of at least 10-12 centres by 12:00 noon and cast fake votes there.

The election for picking a mayor, 41 ward commissioners and 14 women commissioners for the reserved seats was held under unprecedented security arrangement with 16,000 police and Ansar stationed at the centres. The army and BDR patrolled the city.

At least five people were arrested on charges of casting fake votes at different centres and sentenced to five to 30 days' imprisonment by the magistrates on the spot.

An elderly man was injured when the army clubbed and dispersed warring supporters of two commissioner candidates at Municipal School centre at about 12:45pm.

People stood up in long queues in almost all polling centres since the beginning of the ballot at 8:00am. But many voters, mainly women, could not cast votes due to slow process of voting and left polling centres waiting for hours on end.

The election observers found false voting in a number of centres.

Janipop and International Republican Institution (IRI) in a primary observation report said many polling stations witnessed a disturbing amount of false voting. These two observer groups fielded 13 teams to monitor 130 polling centres.

"Despite strong presence of law-enforcers, party hoodlums assembled outside the polling centres, for either intimidating genuine voters or soliciting false voters, many of whom were women," said a joint statement of Janipop and IRI.

In many centres The Daily Star correspondents also found gangs of marauding youths backed by ruling alliance candidates. Voters alleged the hoodlums helped outsiders to cast fake votes in favour of their candidates in their strongholds.

Witnesses also raised allegations of false voting by the supporters of Nagorik Committee in a few centres.

CAPTURE OF POLLING CENTRES
Mohiuddin in a written complaint to the returning officer alleged that his rival's hooligans rigged polls in no fewer than 84 centres. They drove out his polling agents from 24 centres, he alleged.

The opposition-backed candidate also alleged that a number of ministers and ruling party lawmakers moved freely in different polling stations and interfered in the polling process.

Mohiuddin said the agents of Mir Nasir ousted his agents and captured the Polytechnic Institute centre. When Mohiuddin complained to the presiding officer at about 11:00am, the army took measures to ensure the presence of his agents.

On the other hand, supporters of Mir Nasir alleged that Nagorik Committee men captured Kusum Kumari Girls High School, JI Madrasa, Char Chaktai High School and Forest Research Institute centres and herded Nasir's agents out.

OUTSIDERS IN GUISE OF VOTERS
Witnesses said hundreds of Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir activists arrived in Chittagong from outside the city and rushed to the polling centres in the morning to cast fake votes especially in the areas dominated by Jamaat.

Allegations are there that fake voters from Satkania, Lohagara, Chandanaish, Chittagong University and Chakoria areas cast votes in the early hours of polling.

False balloting was also found in many centres including Mohsin College, Chittagong Government High School, Kajem Ali High School, Abdul Jalil Primary School and Dr Khastagir Girls School.

MINORITIES INTIMIDATED
At 11.35am, Tinku Das (voter no 1229) came to Kasheful Ulum Madrasa centre in Sholokbahar (ward no 8) but he could not cast his vote as a JCD activist stopped him and tried to drag him out of the centre, witnesses said.

A few minutes later, some JCD activists chased Minu Barua (voter no 2773) at the entrance to the centre, alleging that she had already cast her vote. They pulled at her saree and harassed her, the witnesses said.

The unruly JCD activists led by its Chittagong City unit Assistant General Secretary Kamrul Islam attacked police Inspector Ataur Rahman and an Ansar man when they came to the rescue of the woman. They also barred photojournalists from taking snaps of the incident.

The policemen on duty were found totally helpless at the main gate of the polling centre as the JCD men took control of it and were obstructing voters.

After a few minutes, the cops clubbed the JCD activists and dispersed them. They took Mina Barua to a safe place. Magistrate Khalil Ahmad then asked the police inspector to call the army to tackle the situation.

"How could we run election in such a situation?" the magistrate said when Inspector Ataur told him that he did not have walkie-talkie to call in the army.

Mina Barua under the magistrate's custody burst into tears and said, "I do not want to cast my vote anymore. Please help me go back home."

Finally, a contingent of army arrived at the centre after 45 minutes.

FALSE VOTING, COCKTAIL BLASTS
Allegations of fake voting, intimidation and chase and counter chase marked the polling in Chittagong Polytechnic and Technical Training centres in East Sholoshahar (ward no 6) despite presence of a large number of police, army and BDR.

When Nagorik Committee candidate Mohiuddin accompanied by several journalists reached the Polytechnic centre at 8.10am, his supporters and many voters rushed to him and raised scores of allegations.

Voters Minu Rani Dey and her husband Banshi Muhuri, Nagorik Committee polling agents Yasmin Akhtar and Jahangir complained that they had been prevented by the ruling party men from entering the centres.

The ruling party supporters misbehaved with daily Amar Desh's photographer Morshed Alam and stopped him from taking snaps at the centre.

Rahima Khatun, another voter, alleged the ruling party cadres forced her out of the centre.

At booth no 5 of this centre, journalists found all the four women agents belonged to Mir Nasir. One of them (Senowara Begum) claimed to be the agent of Mohiuddin but he said he could not identify her.

Presiding Officer of the centre Sirajuddin Sarker dismissed all these allegations.

Mohiuddin then called Officer-in-Charge of Khulshi Police Station Abdul Matin and asked for his help to control the situation. "My supporters are being intimidated here. I need your cooperation," he told the OC.

At around 9:45am, some ruling party cadres led by one Sayeed hurled five to six crackers at Abdul Jalil Primary School centre located in Sholoshahar area, close to Mohiuddin's residence. The mayor is number-1 voter in this centre.

The cocktail blasts created panic among the voters but the polling was not hampered. Presiding Officer Abu Sufian said he heard some blasts.

NASIR COMPLAINS OF SLOW CASTING
At 9:17am, Mir Nasir visited Fateyabad City Corporation Girls High School centre. He wanted to know from Presiding Officer Rafiq Anwar why the casting was so slow. "Why are you making delay in voting," he said.

Rafiq said 33 votes out of 400 in that booth were taken in the first one hour.

Mir Nasir talking to journalists said the voting atmosphere was nice and fair.

After visiting Laliarhat Hossainiya Senior Madrasa in South Pahartali (ward no 1) at 9:50am, Mir Nasir entered a phone-fax shop and phoned general officer commanding (GOC) of Chittagong Cantonment.

He told the GOC that his supporters from Shah Amanat Colony were being barred from coming to a local polling centre. As he asked for the GOC's cooperation, an army jeep arrived there in a few minutes.

BDR CHASES BNP MP
BDR chased ruling BNP lawmaker Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad at Ameer Forkania Madrasha polling centre in Bakolia in the morning when he tried to enter the centre with dozens of followers.

The situation at Kattali Nurul Haque Chowdhury Primary School polling centre in Pahartali at noon was tense as around 50 people were chanting slogans with allegation of fake vote casting inside the centre.

The magistrate went inside the centre and called striking force of the army that were patrolling the streets. Within a few minutes, army personnel in three vehicles arrived at the spot. They charged batons on the protestors to disperse them.

MOHIUDDIN'S DAUGHTER FAILS TO VOTE
Fauzia Sultana Tumpa, daughter of Mohiuddin, and Nusrat Naushin, his niece, came to Polytechnic centre at around 8.15am to cast vote but failed.

They alleged that they had faced obstruction by the BNP and JCD cadres. They raised the allegation when journalists visited the centre, known as a stronghold of JCD, the student wing of ruling BNP.

INTERRUPTION IN VOTING
Polling was suspended for about 10 minutes at booth no 1 of Panchlaish High School centre from 11:05am for the absence of Assistant Presiding Officer AKM Obaidur Rahman. Voting resumed after he came back to the centre.

Obaidur defended himself saying, "I went to the presiding officer's room to collect fresh ballot books as the first ballot book was used up."

Vote casting in this centre was too slow, alleged some voters.