Low turnout, violence, and rigged voting marked the 12th parliamentary election held on Sunday amid boycott by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and some other major political parties.
The ruling Awami League is set to win its fourth consecutive term in the election amid allegations of massive irregularities.
The CEC initially said that the percentage of votes cast was about 28 per cent but he was immediately made to change it by the EC secretary.
Earlier on the day, Election Commission secretary Jahangir Alam said that a total of 27.15 per cent votes were cast until 3:00pm.
The turnout in the 2018 general election was 80.20 per cent and in the 2014 general election, it was 40.04 per cent.
The CEC said that they had suspended voting in seven centres across the country for irregularities and punished 15 people, including the presiding officer and assistant presiding officers, for casting fake votes.
He also said that the commission cancelled the candidature of the ruling party candidate for Chattogram-16, Mostafizur Rahman, 15 minutes before voting ended due to a violation of the electoral code of conduct.
He said that irregularities occurred in 140 polling centres during the election, and 42 people had been arrested.
He added that in 30 to 35 places, chases and counter-chases took place when bricks were hurled at police cars and crude bombs were exploded.
Two assistant presiding officers died of heart attacks on Saturday and Sunday, and one person died in a clash that was being investigated by law enforcers, said the chief election commissioner.
He said that the EC would not judge the election if it maintained global standards or not, and he requested that the media and international community make the judgement after the results were published.
Voters, meanwhile, showed very poor responses, with many centres in Dhaka and other parts of the country appearing empty.
Not a single vote was cast in the two centres of Baghaichari under Rangamati, according to the latest available information.
Ruling Awami League activists, however, were seen making artificial queues in many polling stations, especially in Dhaka, to impress the media and foreign observers.
They created this artificial line when they saw journalists visiting the area.
While visiting polling stations, New Age correspondents did not find polling agents for most candidates apart from AL’s one.
In AKM Rahmatullah College in Beraid, Badda, a polling centre under Dhaka-11 constituency, Nur Nabi Raju, a polling agent, introduced himself as a polling agent of the AL electoral symbol boat, though the identity card he was carrying belonged to the fish symbol, the electoral symbol of the Gono Front.
In a booth of Banani Model School under the Dhaka-17 constituency, polling agents of kula and plough were found, but they could not remember the names of their candidates.
Agents of other candidates were rare, but what was common among them was that they did not know the names of their candidates.
At least 44 candidates in different constituencies across the country boycotted the election midway through Sunday, bringing various allegations, including vote rigging and irregularities in the polls.
‘I came to the election on the assurance of our prime minister. But since the beginning of the election campaign, the boat candidate’s people have been beating and intimidating our people. I was patient. I thought the election would be fair, but it was not,’ said independent candidate Sohana Tahmina of Munshiganj-2 seat after announcing the vote boycott through a press conference at Munshiganj Press Club at about 3:30pm.
She was contesting the polls against AL official candidate Sagufta Yesmin.
Rigging was also reported at many places as activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the AL’s student wing, cast fake votes in many centres, while some underage people also cast votes.
At Tejgaon Adarsha School and College, a 60-year-old woman cast three votes in front of New Age.
Asked why she was doing so, she said, ‘Don’t put me in any trouble. I have an opportunity to vote before I die. Let me do it as many times as I can.’
Three juveniles were arrested by assistant returning officer Khabirul Ahsan while casting fake votes at a centre of the Bishkakuni union in Netrakona. Later, they were handed over to the police.
The incident took place at Putika High School Centre around 12:30pm.
Independent AL candidate Mazharul Islam Sohel has demanded the postponement of the Bishkakuni union election for the Netrakona-5 seat, alleging vote rigging.
In many places, it was reported that activists for the AL candidates stuffed ballots in the final hours of voting massively.
Bangladesh University of Textiles, a polling venue in Tejgaon accommodating five polling centres in Dhaka-12, was swarmed by local youths after 3:00pm. Police and Ansar were sitting idle while the youths, mostly in their 20s, merrily roamed about the venue, casting votes as they wished.
Not a single woman or middle-aged individual could be seen at the venue, where over 10,000 voters were expected to vote.
At least two people were killed and scores of others were injured in clashes between activists of the AL and its independent or Jatiya Party candidates in different districts such as Munshiganj, Chattogram, Cumilla, Dhaka, Jashore, and Jamalpur.
Replying to a query after overseeing polls in the Rangpur-3 constituency, Jatiya Party chairman GM Quader feared that one-party rule would be established in the country.
He also said that the Jatiya Party was used as a sacrificial lamb for this purpose.
‘As we have come to the election, there is no scope for boycotting right now. We have to announce programmes after seeing the poll results,’ he said.
Recently formed Trinamool BNP secretary general Taimur Alam Khandakar, who was contesting the polls from the Narayanganj-1 constituency, complained that there was no atmosphere for the election.
He made this comment in response to questions from reporters after he cast his vote at the Rupsi New Model School and College centre in Narayanganj on Sunday morning.
The main opposition BNP boycotted the polls as the AL rejected its demand for restoring the caretaker government, a provision that the latter removed from the constitution in 2011 based on a partial reading of a Supreme Court ruling.
The two elections held since then have been contentious.
The last two JS polls—2014 and 2018—held under the partisan system earned huge criticism at home and abroad.
In 2014, the opposition, led by the BNP, boycotted the elections, allowing the Awami League to return to power virtually unopposed. The boycott was so widespread that the Awami League faced no rival candidates—not even independent ones—in more than half of the parliamentary seats.
In 2018, the opposition did take part in the vote, but the ruling party and its allied partners secured more than 95 per cent of the seats amid reports of extensive fraud and intimidation.
There are over 11.93 crore voters currently.
Voting took place in 299 constituencies on Sunday, while the EC suspended polling at the Naogaon-2 seat after the death of independent candidate Aminul Haque on December 29.
According to the EC, a total of 1,969 candidates, including 436 independent candidates, vied for the JS this time.
A total of 28 parties, among the 44 registered political parties, fielded candidates in the election.
The ruling AL contested in 266 seats, while the Jatiya Party contested in 265 seats.
New Age
