Sagar Biswas :
Despite gross violation of electoral code in the first phase, the Election Commission [EC] is going to hold the second phase of election in the country’s 644 union parishads [UPs] tomorrow [Thursday] apparently without taking any additional security measures to resist violence.
Interestingly, the ruling party-backed candidates have already won as ‘Chairman’ in 31 UPs in the second phase also without any contest.
The EC has got over 500 complaints about the violation of electoral code by ruling Awami League nominated candidates in the first phase, where the ruling party men had won in about 54 UPs without balloting. But the EC did not take any visible action and legal step till the date for reasons best known to them. “Members of the law enforcement agencies are asked to start duty two days ahead of voting like the previous phase. The EC hasn’t taken any additional measure to resist violence,” Deputy Secretary of EC Secretariat Shamsul Alam said on Tuesday. Admitting the fact, Election Commissioner Mohammad Shahnewaz also said that the security forces will be deployed in same style like the first phase. “Yes, we have got some complaints about irregularities in the first phase….We want to warn everybody that tough action will be taken against the law breakers,” the Commissioner said. “We won’t tolerate, if the law enforcers ‘suck finger’ seeing incidents of violence in front of them….We won’t tolerate, if the presiding officers ‘remain mum’ seeing ballot stuffing or fake vote in from of them…..I want to say, the concerned officials will have to do their best to make the election credible,” Shahnewaz further noted. According to unofficial report, about 27 people have so far been killed and over 1200 injured in the electoral violence in different parts of the country. It is alleged that the EC is not preserving the overall information of violence and misconduct.
The EC has already sent four 4 crore of ballot papers for holing polls in the posts of ‘Chairman’, member [general] and member [reserved seat]. The judicial and executive magistrates will be in duty on the voting day. The voting will continue from 8:00am to 4:00pm. The number of ‘Chairman’ candidate is 2,684. Of them, 1507 candidates are nominated by 17 political parties and the rest 1177 are independent candidates. In this situation, the EC on Tuesday postponed the 3rd phase elections to all UPs in the hilly district of Rangamati, scheduled for April 23. The elections will be held on June 4 as per new directives of EC, “Md.Nazim Uddin, Election Officer in Rangamati district, said. The polls date has been shifted due to non submission of nomination papers in Chairman post from major political parties, including Awami League and BNP, in 19 UPs out of 49 of 10 upzilas in Rangamati due to terror threat by armed cadres of some political parties. “The EC has taken the matter seriously after getting written complaint from Deputy Commissioner of Rangamati about the threat. In this case, the aspirants will get chance to file nomination paper again in these cancelled UPs,” Ashfaqur Rahman, Assistant Secretary [election management and coordination cell] of EC said. Meanwhile, being summoned by EC, the Superintendent of Police in Satkhira and five Officers-in-Charge [OCs] of concerned police stations will appear before the Commission today [Wednesday] to submit their statements over the ‘ballot stuffing’ in 11 centres.
The EC had suspended all policemen; those were on-duty at 11 centres, on charge of stuffing ballot with fake seals at 14 centres in the earlier night of the election, official sources said.
Referring the massive violence, Sushasoner Jonno Nagorik [SUJAN], a civil society platform working for good governance, has said the polls was marred by violence in 32 districts out of 36 in the first phase where 11 people lost lives on the day of voting around 3,000 injured.
