Prothom Alo
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda has termed Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukder’s remarks regarding the ongoing union parishad (UP) polls as ‘lies’ and ‘slander’.
He said, “Mahbub Talukder always makes false statements. He makes instigative speeches. Probably, he has some agenda behind such remarks.”
CEC said this while speaking to newspersons after a workshop at Sonargaon Hotel in the capital on Thursday.
On Wednesday, after the fifth phase of UP polls, Mahbub Talukder had said, “Violence and clashes have become a part and parcel of UP elections. Now there are clashes in the election, no voting. The UP election has turned into a tragedy instead of a festival. But elections and violence cannot go side by side.”
When asked about Mahbub Talukder’s remark, CEC Nurul Huda said, “He always says things like this. He chooses specific words at specific times and releases them for publicity in the media. His remarks are irrelevant. These are fabricated speeches to blame the Election Commission (EC).”
CEC further said, “If there was no vote, then how would the voter turnout be 75 per cent? We have seen through the television broadcast that voters are standing for a long time in queues to cast their votes. Who are they? Aren’t they voters? Therefore, his words are inconsistent.”
Nurul Huda also blamed the candidates and their followers for the casualties during the UP polls. In reply to a question from the newspersons, he said the EC is not liable for the casualties in the UP polls at all. Violence erupts due to internal clashes, not for the mismanagement of the EC. It is the candidates and their followers, who are liable for the casualties in the UP polls.
The fifth phase of UP polls was mired in violence and bloodshed. It was feared that, violence would erupt in this phase like the previous occasions. That fear turned out to be a reality as some 11 people were killed during the fifth phase. Apart from that many were injured in poll violence during the fifth phase of UP election.