Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad on Saturday said ‘social tension’ is the major reason behind election violence.”Now there’s instability at all levels of society…children are killed over trivial matters. The value of life has become the cheapest now. The value of everything other than life is on the rise” Rakibuddin bemoaned.The CEC came up with the observation at a post-UP polls briefing at the media center of the Election Commission Secretariat.He also observed that the sourness was high as the UP election was very competitive, which is another main reason behind the violence.The CEC said every candidate thinks he is the most competent and does not care much what the voter think. This is why they are desperate to win the polls at any cost.He said it will have to bring a basic change in the social perception where the press has significant responsibility to motivate people for the change.”We’re shocked at the casualties in the election violence and the Commission also expressed deep shock in this regard,” Kazi Rakibuddin said.Responding to a question about election monitoring across the country, he said the staggered Union Parishad elections have been completed in a free and fair manner, except a few incidents of irregularities.The CEC hoped that there will be a time in the future when the Commission will be able to arrange elections in Bangladesh without the help of law enforcement agencies as in many other countries.The election atmosphere improved gradually as the latest phases of the election were fairer than the first ones, he said.Rakibuddin said three people were killed and voting in 36 polling stations out of 6298 across the country was cancelled on the sixth phase of the UP election on Saturday.Besides, long queues of both females and males were seen in the polling stations in the final phase, he added.Some 500 people were fined a total of Tk 12.86 lakh on charge of election irregularities and violation of the election code of conduct in the UP election. Of them, 12 people were sentenced to different jail terms.With the 6th phase election to 698 UPs, the EC completed the 9th countrywide UP election, which was partially held along the political party line for the first time in the country’s history.
