Staff Reporter :
BNP on Saturday aired an apprehension that there would be widespread violence and irregularities in the fourth phase of the upazila polls on Sunday as what it said the government is conspiring to rig votes in collusion with the Election Commission and the administration.
“Violence is growing alarmingly. Presiding officers are being employed as per choice of the ruling party while police superintendents are being transferred with an evil motive. The government is doing all these things to rig votes in connivance with the EC and administration,” said BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
He was addressing a press briefing at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office.
The BNP leader alleged that the ruling party-backed candidates and their supporters are randomly violating the election code of conduct by flexing muscle amid the EC’s silence.
“We want to equivocally tell the Election Commission, “We won’t forget your shameless role in favour of the ruling party. You changed SPs just a day before the polls with an evil motive,” he added.
Ninety-one upazila polls are going to polls in 43 districts in the fourth phase of the local body elections on Sunday. Meanwhile, elections to 294 upazilas were held in the first three phases on
February 19 and 27 and March 15 respectively.
Addressing the briefing, Rizvi alleged that the ruling party ‘cadres’ and the law enforcers are making various plots to capture polling stations, snatch ballot papers and manipulate the election results as they did in the last three phases.
He also claimed that the ruling party men and the law enforcers are harassing and torturing the opposition-backed candidates and their supporters in different polling areas of the country to intimidate voters.
The law enforcers are raiding the houses of BNP men and arresting them in ‘false’ case, the BNP leader added.
Criticising the Election Commission for what he said not taking any action against the ruling party men who are indulging in violence, Rizvi said the commission is more skilled in spreading violence than containing it.
