At least one person was killed and several injured in clashes during the polling of the second phase of the ongoing upazila parishad elections held on Tuesday amid low voter turnout in the local government elections.
In many places, election officials allegedly showed inaction despite open vote rigging, while candidates boycotted the polls in the middle of voting in many other places among the 156 upazilas where voting was held.
Speaking to reporters at his office, chief election commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal said that more than 30 per cent of votes were cast in Tuesday鈥檚 elections.
The voter turnout in the first phase of upazila parishad elections in 139 upazilas on May 8 was 36.1 per cent, the lowest in decades.聽
Election commissioner Md Alamgir said that no rules or regulations in national or local government polls stipulate a certain percentage of votes cast for them to become acceptable.
鈥楾he commission isn鈥簍 bothered about the turnout. The Election Commission will be satisfied with any percentage of votes,鈥� he said.
The voter turnout was 40.22 per cent in 2019, 61 per cent in 2014 and 68.32 per cent in 2009.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Cox鈥檚 Bazar reported that a man was stabbed to death during clashes among supporters of two upazila chairman candidates in Eidgaon upazila in Cox鈥檚 Bazar.
Deceased Safur Alam, 35, son of Nur Uddin, was from the Pashchim Pokkhali area of the upazila.
The officer in-charge of the local police station, Shuvo Ranjan Chakma, said that Safur Alam, an activist of the 鈥榯elephone鈥� symbol, and Saidul, brother of Masud, an agent of 鈥榯he motorcycle鈥� symbol, locked into an altercation over establishing supremacy in the election.
At one stage, Saidul stabbed the victim, leaving him critically injured. Safur was later sent to Eidgaon Medical Centre, where the duty doctor declared him dead.
In Brahmanbaria鈥檚 Akhaura, a miscreant snatched a ballot box from a polling centre, which was later recovered from a pond, confirmed executive magistrate Tanvir Farhad Shamim.
In Rajshahi, at least seven people were injured in a clash between supporters of chairman candidates Abdul Mazid Sardar and Sharifuzzaman Sharif in Durgapur upazila.
Rajshahi additional superintendent of police, Rofiqul Alam, said that the clashes erupted just before voting began at 8:00am in front of Gopalpur High School.
The injured were given treatment at Durgapur Health Complex, said police.
Besides, another clash took place at Pananagar Dimukhi High School Centre in the same upazila, leaving one person injured.
In Narayanganj, polling agents were intimidated and beaten in two upazilas of Narayanganj, two chairman candidates alleged.
In Araihazar upazila, former upazila Awami League president and former upazila chairman Shahjalal Mia claimed that at least 100 of his agents and their family members were threatened and beaten up.
Shahjalal announced the boycott of the vote around 3:00pm alleging irregularities and spreading influence against the local lawmaker.
He claimed that Nazrul Islam, the lawmaker of Narayanganj-2 and the chairman of Duptara union parishad, picked up all his agents at Panchgaon Manohar Government Primary School and Dewanpara Government Primary School centres around midnight and threatened them.
At least five of his agents were allegedly picked up and beaten up when they were entering Domar Char Government Primary School and Panchani Madrasa centres in Khagkanda union in the morning.
In Sonargaon upazila, former upazila AL general secretary and chairman candidate Mahfuzur Rahman Kalam alleged that rival Babul Hossain鈥簊 supporters surrounded centres in Char Kishoreganj, Char Hogla, and Kanchpur of the Sambhupura Union of Sonargaon.
Narayanganj additional deputy commissioner Shakib Al Rabbi, also the returning officer of the election, told the media that there were allegations of beating agents in two centres in Araihazar and not allowing agents to enter three centres in Sonargaon.
In Gazipur, a mobile court sentenced a supporter of Jamil Hasan Durjoy, a chairman candidate in Gazipur鈥簊 Sripur upazila parishad election, to three days鈥� imprisonment for violating the electoral code of conduct.
Kamal Hossain, a supporter of Jamil, was caught red-handed by the executive magistrate while violating the election code of conduct at the Gosinga High School polling centre.
The magistrate later sentenced him to three days鈥� simple imprisonment, Sripur Upazila Election Officer Abdullah Al Noman told reporters.
Jamil is also the joint general secretary of the district Awami League.
In Noakhali, ZM Azad Khan, a candidate for the post of chairman of Chatkhil upazila Parishad, boycotted voting by alleging various irregularities, such as throwing agents out of the centre one after another, openly stuffing ballots, and spreading influence in the centre by arranging fake agents.
He announced the boycott around noon, holding a press conference at his residence in Chatkhil municipality.
Most opposition parties, including the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, boycotted the polls, while AL people are contesting against each other in most upazilas.
