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Judicial magistrates resent EC decision

BNP wants them to be infield

Staff Correspondent
A delegation of the BNP-led four-party alliance yesterday requested the Election Commission (EC) to deploy judicial magistrates in the field level to effectively check violation of election code of conduct in today's parliamentary polls.
Meanwhile, a section of judicial magistrates commissioned to try electoral offences on the polling day yesterday expressed resentment over the EC's decision not to deploy them (magistrates) in the constituencies.
BNP Joint Secretary General Nazrul Islam Khan who led the delegation told reporters that they met Election Commissioner M Sakhawat Hossain and made the plea to employ judicial magistrates in the field level as was the tradition in all past elections.
He said, as judicial magistrates, as per EC's decision, would discharge their duties from their offices at district level, they would only be able to punish anyone once any allegation regarding violation of the election code of conduct is lodged with them. The EC on Saturday finally decided that the judicial magistrates would perform their jobs sitting in their offices, which was in complete contrast with their previous decision.
Earlier the EC entrusted judicial magistrates with the task of punishing electoral offences on the very polling day. But this time around they arc not going to move around the constituencies as per EC's decision. They will only take into cognisance electoral offences for trial.
MAGISTRATES UNHAPPY
Talking toThe Daily Star a senior magistrate said the EC had no jurisdiction to handle the assignment of the judicial magistrates. “As per the law only the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or the Chief Judicial Magistrate can assign magistrates to perform a certain duty,” .headded.
Seeking anonymity, another magistrate said now offenders and wrongdoers would have the upper hand in committing crimes and offences like casting false votes or getting away with ballot boxes or bringing out a 1 procession without any major | trouble as the executive magistrates will have no jurisdiction to punish any offender rather than slapping only a fine of a certain amount of money.
Another magistrate on tire same grounds said the EC was biased by the administration and it would create controversies between the judicial and the executive magistrates.
During the meet Nazrul Islam also complained to the EC about the remarks made by AL's Election Conducting Committee co-Chairman HT Imam who alleged that a BNP leader along with some others in the BG Press had trained up around 100 BNP-Jamaat workers to print fake ballot papers.
UNB adds: At a press briefing at BNP's Gulshan office Nazrul also alleged that AL activists and a few policemen and Rab and army personnel are involved in harassing leaders and workers of the BNP and its alliance in a bid to hold them back from working for their candidates.
He said they received reports of harassment from many constituencies across the country, including Magura -1, Magura-2, Sylhet-2, Jhenidah-4, Shariatpur-2, Chandpur-2, Gazipur-5 and Noakhali-3.
Terming such incidents "unfortunate", he demanded that the administration monitor the election properly.