Sagar Biswas :Like the previous two phases, the ruling Awami League has bagged around 5.5 times more votes than its arch rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party [BNP] in the Saturday’s third phase election in the country’s 614 Unions.As per first-hand result of 522 Unions out of 614 provided by Election Commission on Sunday noon, the average turnout was 77.19 percent in the third phase. Of them, Awami League ‘chairman’ candidates won in 324 UPs while BNP won only in 57 UPs. Apart from voting, the Awami League candidates also declared ‘winner’ in 29 UPs without any contest. It means, the total number of elected ‘chairman’ candidates is 353, out of 551 unions. Not only that, the independent candidates, most of them are rebel candidates of Awami League, have also won in 121 UPs.Interestingly, the scenario was almost same in the first and second phases where Awami League bagged 74 percent and 78 percent votes respectively. In the both two previous phases [first and second], the ruling party managed to win in 1,001 UPs and BNP witnessed victory only in 108 UPs.BNP, however, termed their defeat as ‘an outcome of widespread violence and massive vote rigging’.Expressing dissatisfaction over the role of EC, BNP vice-chairman Abdullah Al Noman yesterday said that EC was showing ‘bioscope’ to the nation. “People are dying in the farcical polls. But the EC is not taking any action. The winners are getting victory by killing people….I don’t know whether the EC is shamed of it, or not,” he said. According to EC, the Awami League’s ‘boat’ symbol pulled more than 32 lakh votes, which is 45.1 percent in average. BNP’s ‘sheaf of paddy’ secured about 14 lakh votes, which is only 9 per cent of the total turnout. Besides, the independent candidates have got about 21 lakh votes.The number of total voters was 93, 20,194. Of them, 71, 93,864 votes were casted, which was 77.19 percent. The number of legal votes was 70, 45, 713 while the number of cancelled votes was 1,48,151 votes. On the other hand, Jatiya Party won in 10 UPs and JASAD bagged only one.”The result of 58 UPs has remained pending. It is coming one after another. Particularly, the result of eight UPs in Chittagong Hill Tracts will come after a few days. The delay caused due to network disturbance in the remote hill areas,” EC official SM Asaduzzamn said.No doubt, the number of Awami League-backed winners would obviously increase after the result of all UP comes. Meanwhile, the incidents of post-polls violence have yet not stopped despite various preventive measures taken by the law enforcement agencies and EC.At least 20 persons were injured in a fierce clash between two factions of Awami League at Madaripur village under Sadar Union of Sreepur Upazila in Magura district yesterday. Ten houses were also ransacked at that time. “We have deployed additional forces in the area to tackle any untoward situation. Police are conducting drives to nab culprits,” Officer-in Charge of Sreepur Police Station Rezaul Islam said last night.
