— New Age photo
Voting in 717 Union Parishads in 37 districts of the country ended at 4:00pm on Tuesday amid spree of stuffing, snatching away ballots and sporadic violence that left around 70 people injured.
The balloting in the first phase of the UP election began at 8:00am and continued till 4:00pm without any break.
According reports reaching the UNB news desk, the voting was marked with violence and anomalies in Noakhali, Lakshmipur, Barisal, Bhola, Sirajgnaj, Bagerhat, Patuakhali and Satkhira districts.
Dozens of people, including three election officials, were injured in the election violence in various places of the districts.
Polling at twenty centres were suspended over allegations of irregularities.
Snatching of ballot boxes by ‘ unidentified miscreants’ prompted the authorities to keep balloting at a centre in Korapur union of Barisal.
Sources said around 30 minute after the polling began at the Korapur polling centre, a group of miscreants stormed the centre and snatched away a number of ballot boxes terrorising the on-duty election officials and others concerned.
The incident forced the authorities to keep the polling halted, reports United News of Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, 15 people were injured in Rahamatpur union of Babuganj upazila in a clash between supporters of BNP-bakced candidate and AL-backed candidate.
In Patuakhali, voting was halted this morning at two poling centers at Golachipa and Kolapara by the authorities after mass rigging and snatching of ballot boxes by ruling party backed men.
Police fired five rounds of gunshots at Chakamuiya Sundrapasha polling center of Kolapara while two people were injured.
At Boga, Kalimuri, Dhulia and Chotobighai candidates of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Awami League rebel group and individual candidates rejected the vote as miscreants occupied the centers.
In Satkhira at 12 polling centers of five upazilas vote casting was halted due to vote rigging and violence.
The halted centers are Bhagbah, Avaytola, Datpur of Kumira union of Tala upazila, Alipur, Mahmudpur, Bharukhali of Sadar upazila, Kolatupi of Kushodanga union of Kolaroa upazila, Khejurbaria of Debhata upazila, Purbakhali, Mahjanpur, Mehedinagar of Kailashi union of Shamnagar.
At least two local leaders of ruling Awami League of Kumira union of Satangira were injured in a clash with police while they were casting excessive votes in support of Awami League at Bhagba polling center.
At most of the polling centers ruling party backed supporters were occupying the centers alleged BNP and individual candidates.
BNP candidate of Deyara union Ibrahim Hossain said miscreants hurtled five crude bombs at his resident early hours this morning.
In Sirajganj at Brammagasa union Awami League and their rebel candidates chased each other in a bid to occupy the polling centers while at least 10 people were injured
The BNP candidates of four unions of Kamalnagar upazila in Lakshmipur around 11:00am announced to reject the vote as ruling party men occupied the polling centers hurtling crude bombs.
United News of Bangladesh reports an assistant presiding officer and a polling
officer received injuries as miscreants opened shots at a polling centre in Char King union of Hatiya in Noakhali.
The injured were identified Shahadat Hossain, assistant presiding officer, and Abdul Awal, polling officer, at 2 no centre on the Char King High School premises.
Badiuzzam, presiding officer of the polling centre, said a gang of miscreants broke into the polling centre and tried to snatch ballots.
As the officials there resisted, the miscreants opened fire on them, which left the duo injured.
Later the injured were rushed to Hatiya upazila health complex.
In Bhola at least 10 people were injured in a clash over attempt to cast fake votes at Swedish Free Mission School polling centre in Pashchim Ilisha union of Borhanuddin upazila on Tuesday morning.
A brawl ensued between the supporters of two member candidates over attempt to cast fake votes at the polling centre in the morning, presiding officer Abdur Razzak said.
Following the clash, voting was suspended at the centre, he added.
Later to quell the unrest, police opened fire, leaving 10 people injured.
New Age Correspondent in Jessore adds that Awami League men captured at least 7 polling centres under Monirampur in Jessore although voting was almost peaceful in all the 16 union councils.
Presiding Mohitosh Chakrawarty was compelled to stop voting due to violence at Lauri Secondary School centre.
Syed Al-Emran, upazila election officer, Monirampur told New Age that elections held peacefully in the 16 union councils. But Shahid Iqbal Hossain, president, Monirampur upazila unit BNP told that AL men captured at least 7 polling stations under Shymkur, Khedapara and Mashimnagar unions.
As many as 14 political parties out of 40 registered ones are participating in the first phase polls, fielding nearly 1800 chairman candidates out of over 3000. The remaining 1200-plus are independent candidates.
Candidates from two major political parties — ruling Awami League and its archrival BNP — start as frontrunners in the election. But BNP has no chairman candidate in some 120 UPs whereas AL in only one.
Fifty-four chairman candidates, all from the ruling party, have already been elected unopposed finding no rival against their respective post. They comprise 32 candidates in Bagerhat, 10 in Madaripur, 3 in Gopalganj, two each in Bhola and Brahmanbaria, and one each in Khulna, Satkhira, Barisal, Jhalakati and Munshiganj.
In the first phase election, some 1.19 crore voters are set to exercise their franchise under nearly 7,000 polling stations.
A total of five magistrates – four executive and one judicial- remain deployed in each upazila to curb violation of election code of conduct. More than 180,000 security members — police, RAB, BGB, Coast Guard and Ansar — remain deployed in election areas.
Alongside the magistrates, three teams of Rapid Action Battalion and three teams of Border Guard Bangladesh are working as mobile and striking forces in each upazila to maintain electoral environment for the four days.
Besides, mobile teams comprising of police, APBn and Ansar remain deployed in each UP as mobile teams.
For each coastal upazila, two teams (two platoons) of Coast Guard remain as mobile force, while one platoon of the agency is being kept as striking force.
Meanwhile, a 19-member security team comprising five policemen, two Battalion Ansar men with arms and 12 embedded Ansar/VDP members are protecting each vulnerable polling centre.
As part of the first phase election, 718 Ups went to polls on Tuesday, while 11 UPs of Nagarpur of Tangail will go to polls on Wednesday and two UPs of Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar on March 27.
As per factsheet provided by the EC, some 3000 candidates for chairman posts are in the election race, in addition to 7,500 women candidates for reserved seats and over 25,000 contenders for member posts in the phase.
The EC so far announced the election schedule for the first three phases as part of its plan to arrange elections in 4275 out of the country’s 4546 UPs in six phases by June.
Source: New Age
