Concerns have been raised at the Election Commission that the ongoing political violence from the opposition alliance’s blockade programmes may cause a low turnout of voters for the January 5 polls.
The contesting candidates in the 146 constituencies – where elections would take place – and field-level officials have also expressed fears about their own security, EC officials have said.
Seeking anonymity, a deputy secretary of the EC told the Dhaka Tribune that the commission was worried about the presence of voters in the 10th parliamentary polls because of the ongoing violence.
On Friday, the commission held a meeting with returning officers and law enforcement agencies to discuss how to increase voter turnout in the polls.
“The returning officers expressed concerns about the presence of voters in the polls. They also said voters would not go to the polling centres because of the one-sided polls. The returning officers sought to the commission about any way of increasing voter number during the election day,” an EC official said.
Other officials who were also present at the meeting said voter turnout might increase on election day if the union parishads could be trained for drawing more voters to the polling centres.
The commission also asked the law enforcement agencies to ensure security for all voters and asked the returning officers to take initiative for creating polls-friendly environment in the election areas.
Asked about the issue of voter turnout, Election Commissioner Mohammad Abu Hafiz yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that the turnout would depend on the situation during the election day.
“We hope that the ongoing situation will improve and voters can go to the polling centre safely. If the political violence stopped, the turnout of voters will increase,” he said, adding that continuing violence would impact the presence of voters in the polling centres.
With 154 candidates being elected uncontested, a total of 43,685,670 voters are expected to cast their ballots in the remaining 146 seats.
According to EC figures, 48,280,620 voters out of a total 91,966,290 people who registered in the voter list would not apply their voting rights in the general elections.
However, the ruling Awami League was seeking to arrange a “festive election with the turnout of the highest number of voters,” said party advisor HT Imam on Friday, as a joint effort to create an electoral atmosphere was already underway by the participating political parties.
On the other hand, senior leaders of the main opposition BNP expressed hopes of ensuring poor voter presence in the upcoming polls, in a bid to provoke further controversy surrounding the elections. An advisor to the opposition chief also informed that Khaleda Zia herself might take to the street in a few days to intensify the ongoing movement against the election – which the opposition leaders have termed as farcical.
Meanwhile, with the exception of some constituencies, most of the areas are lacking a festive election mood as ongoing political violence and non-stop blockades have barred most candidates from starting their campaigns.
Many candidates, including Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu, have submitted applications to the EC, seeking security for carrying out election campaigns. Some field level officials have also asked the commission to increase security, EC officials said.
Afaz Uddin, the Awami League-backed candidate of Kushtia-1, submitted a letter to the commission seeking personal protection as well as security for election campaigning.
Another Awami league candidate of Kushtia-4, Abdur Rauf, also submitted a letter to the EC seeking personal security. The letter stated that he would not be able to carry out election campaign if the commission did not provide security as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, independent candidate and also former information and culture minister Abdullah Abu Sayed of Pabna-1 and Bangladesh Nationalist Front candidate Khalilur Rahman Khan of Barguna-1 have also raised allegations against local administrations for showing partiality.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
