Widespread violence and vote rigging marked the fourth phase of the upazila parishad elections despite a large turnout of voters, the Election Working Group (EWG) said yesterday.
The network of civil society organisations monitored 680 polling centres in 23 upazilas during the fourth round of polls on Sunday.
In a preliminary report, the group noted 122 violent incidents and 184 cases of vote rigging in 16 upazilas, while voter turnout was recorded as 66.5%.
At a programme in the capital yesterday, the EWG also alleged that its members had faced obstacles while monitoring the polls.
Citing an example, the EWG said supporters, including a 10-year-old boy, had been seen snatching and stuffing ballot papers in favour of their candidates in at least two centres in Pirojpur Sadar upazila.
Addressing a press conference in the capital yesterday, EWG’s election expert Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah said the Election Commission’s efforts to hold peaceful polls had been foiled due to the huge number of “unprecedented” incidents of violence.
“The first phase of polls were held normally, but incidents of violence increased in the third phase,” Nazmul said, adding: “The violence reached a new level in the fourth phase that crossed the limits, and tarnished the image of our election culture.”
Nazmul also claimed that the EWG observers had been sent out of 18 polling stations while some had had their mobile phones “unexpectedly” taken away.
EWG Director Abdul Alim was present at the programme held at the National Press Club.
