`Irregularities mar peaceful polls’

The overall achievement of the Election Commission in holding yesterday's union parishad polls peacefully has been marred by irregularities in some places, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad said.

Briefing reporters at the EC secretariat in the evening, he warned of taking actions against those involved in electoral irregularities.

The ruling Awami League, however, claimed the second phase of the UP election was free, fair and peaceful like the first one.

The BNP demanded cancellation of elections of both the phases as those saw “widespread irregularities and violence”.

A total of 639 unions in 47 districts went to polls yesterday. At least six people were killed and 130 injured in electoral violence on the day.

A three-member BNP delegation, led by its Joint Secretary General Mohammad Shahjahan, met the CEC at the latter's office around 4:30pm.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Shahjahan said: “We've urged the CEC to cancel the union parishad polls and improve the electoral environment. If the Election Commission fails to do so, we would consider not contesting polls under this commission in future.”

AL BRIEFING

AL Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif at a press conference at the party president's Dhanmondi office said the polls cannot be termed faulty as irregularities took place in only 22 poling stations out of over 6,000.

Referring to killing of “three” people in polls violence, he said one of them died of “heart attack” in Jamalpur yesterday.

“But killing of two people is unacceptable. We gave directives to the law enforcement agencies to take tough actions against the culprits involved in those incidents,” Hanif added.

In the first phase, elections to 712 unions were held on March 22. Elections to 621 unions are slated for April 23 in the third phase. A total of 743 unions will go to polls on May 7 in fourth phase and around 1,400 more unions in two other phases till June.