Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad on Sunday night said the Election Commission has nothing to do with the record number of MPs being elected unopposed.
“The Commission has nothing to do with it as it’s a matter of withdrawal of candidature,” the CEC told reporters in reply to a question whether the EC feels embarrassed with the unprecedented number of MPs emerging winners uncontested.
Kazi Rakibuddin came up with the remarks while leaving his EC secretariat office at about 11.05pm.
He said the election is a legal process and it will continue till the election is over.
Asked why the names of single candidates reached the EC even after two days of the deadline, the EC boss parried the question saying the names have come through the telephone and internet and the commission has just compiled those.
But, he claimed, the figure of 154 single candidates who are set to be elected is authentic. “Our today’s figure is the correct figure.”
The Commission in its Sunday’s meetings discussed the allocation of election symbols to contesting candidates and printing of ballot papers to arrange the election in the remaining parliamentary elections, the CEC said.
With the addition of three more names today, the number of unopposed winners of MPs now stands at 154 in the January 5 national election, a new record in the country’s election history.
Of the total unopposed winners, 127 candidates are of ruling Awami League, 21 of Jatiya Party, three of Inu-led Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Jasad), two of Menon-led Bangladesh Workers Party, the rest one of Manju-led Jatiya Party.
The number of uncontested winners has surpassed that of the largely-boycotted Feb-15 (1996) controversial election when 49 BNP candidates were elected uncontested.
The commission on November 25 announced schedule for the country’s 10th parliamentary elections fixing voting for January 5.
Source: UNBConnect
