'Vote rigging' and violence mar Bangladesh mayoral polls
Opposition mounts boycott, brands elections a 'farce'.
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| Border Guard soldiers patrol in Dhaka during mayoral polls on Tuesday |
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders alleged massive fraud and violence against opposition supporters hours after the start of the vote in Dhaka South, Dhaka North and Chittagong city corporations. Within hours the party announced a boycott of the election terming it a “farce.”
“This is not an election but a farce. The ruling party has proved they have no respect for a public mandate and the rigging shows democracy cannot be restored under this government,” BNP senior leader Moudud Ahmed said while announcing the boycott in Dhaka.
Ruling party leaders claimed the boycott was premeditated.
“It was pre-planned. The BNP boycotted the polls fearing defeat and to create an issue for a fresh movement against the government,” said Awami League joint secretary Mahbubul Alam during a press conference in Dhaka on Tuesday.
At several polling stations, ruling party men were captured on video stuffing ballot boxes with the support of policemen and polling officers. A number of people said they were prevented from voting by ruling party supporters who told them their vote had been cast already.
The election commission suspended voting in three centers in Dhaka after written complaints were filed.
In many centers, polling agents of BNP-backed candidates were not allowed to enter and in some centers they were beaten and driven away.
At least six journalists were attacked and injured and saw their equipment destroyed by men wearing ruling party badges while 15 others were denied entry to polling centers in Dhaka and Chittagong.
In Dhaka, violence occurred at several polling stations when supporters of ruling party candidates and rivals scuffled to take control of the centers, spreading fear among voters many of whom opted not to vote at all.
Despite the evident issues, the Election Commission ruled the election free and fair.
“We are satisfied as we have seen a good voter turnout. Except for some sporadic cases of irregularities the voting has been free, fair and festive,” said chief election commissioner Kazi Rakiduddin Ahmed.
Ahmed claimed a more than 40 percent turnout in the three city corporations and said allegations of irregularities were being investigated.
The United States government expressed dismay over the poll irregularities and cautioned against further political violence.
“We are disappointed by the widespread, first-hand, and credible reports of vote-rigging, intimidation and violence that have occurred at polling stations,” the US embassy in Dhaka said in statement after the polls ended.
“It is important that irregularities be investigated transparently and impartially, and we call on all parties involved to work within the law and avoid violence at all costs,” it added.
The much-anticipated mayoral polls were being closely watched, both at home and abroad, amid the longest period of political unrest in the country’s 44-year history.
Since January 5 this year, the BNP has staged continuous blockades and strikes in order to topple the government of Sheikh Hasina and force fresh elections.
Hasina’s Awami League won a second term after a one-sided general election boycotted by the BNP and its allies one year ago. Hasina had earlier refused to resign and make way for a neutral caretaker government to oversee the polls.
The BNP alleged then that last year's election under the government of Hasina would be rigged.
At least 120 people were killed and hundreds injured in violent confrontations between BNP, Awami League supporters and law enforcers in three months of violence following the poll.
Hasina’s archrival, former prime minister and BNP chief Khaleda Zia, vowed to launch tougher protest measures if the mayoral polls were rigged.
Economists say the political unrest has cost the country up to 0.6 percent of its GDP, which has taken a heavy toll on poor farmers, laborers and small businesses.
Observers say the ‘rigged' mayoral polls are bad news for democracy and the people of Bangladesh.
“The nation wholeheartedly expected to see credible and fair elections which might cast away the bitter political rivalry between the two major parties, but they have been disappointed,” said Badiul Alam Majumder, a political commentator and president of Citizens for Good Governance, a citizen rights forum.
“These elections have tainted the image of Bangladesh and our fragile democratic system. Now, we see no end to the violent and power-grabbing political culture of the country,” Majumder added.
Bangladesh has endured 19 coups and 15 years military rule since its independence from Pakistan in 1971. After returning to democracy in the 1990s, power has alternated between Hasina, daughter of the country’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Zia, the widow of former military dictator and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman.
Their personal enmity has been at the center of the political violence in the country for decades.
Source: UCAN
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