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CEC plays down polls violence

Says upazila election largely peaceful

Staff Correspondent
Terming the polling day violence stray incidents, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad said the voting yesterday across the country was largely fair and peaceful.
“We took stern action against irregularities and violence to ensure free and fair polls. We suspended voting in 34 polling centres as well as in an upazila,” he told newsmen at the media centre of the Election Commission Secretariat.
The CEC made the claim around three
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hours afterthevotingended at 4:00pm amid violence, suspension of voting and polling officers, allegations of vote-rigging, casting fake votes and attacks on voters and law enforcers in more than two dozen upazilas.
Some 115 upazilas went to polls yesterday, but polling in Noakhali Sadar upazila was suspended due to violence and vote-rigging.
On the incidents of violence, the CEC said, "Law enforcers took a tough line. But the number of miscreants might have been more than the law enforcers. We'll probe the incidents of
violence."
"If anybody is found guilty of neglecting his duties, we'll surely take action against him," he added.
About BNP's allegation of vote-rigging Rakibuddin said as the upazila elections are non-partisan by nature, complaints by any political party in this regard are not much important.
However, this correspondent found that many EC officials were largely unhappy with yesterday's polls as they thought the voting was not fair.
Seeking anonymity, an election commissioner said local administrations in many
areas did not act as per directives of the EC. Rather, they acted on directives of local lawmakers and ministers.
"The ruling party men have massively influenced the polls. 1 think they stamped on ballot papers for about one hour in most of the polling centres," said a senior assistant secretary at the EC secretariat.
Some EC officials told The Daily Star that returning officers from different upazilas reported to the EC headquarters in Dhaka over the phone on vote-rigging by ruling party men. Asked to send written complaints
to the EC, the returning officers refused.
Law enforcers in many upazilas acted in favour of candidates blessed by the ruling Awami League and did not ensure proper security for the voters and polling officials.
"Our officers couldn't start vote counting on time in different upazilas of Bogra, Noakhali and Feni as they were held hostage by some ruling party men," mentioned an EC official.
Meanwhile: sources in the EC said two polling officers, one in Keraniganj of Dhaka and another in Khetlal of Joypurhat, died of illness