The law enforcement agencies and army failed to play an effective role in curbing violence during the recent upazila parishad elections, SHUJAN said yesterday.
It alleged that the lawmen did not take prompt action in fourth phase upazila poll to rein in violence even after the EC issued directives for them to do so.
Shushashoner Jannoy Nagorik (SHUJAN), a civil society organisation, working for establishing good governance, came up with the allegation at a press conference in the capital’s Mukti Bhaban.
The patrol of army, RAB and BGB in the poll centres before and during poll did not prove effective, SHUJAN observed.
Even in the fourth phase, the law enforcement agencies’ role was not praiseworthy,” SHUJAN Secretary Badiul Alam Mujumder said.
The civil society organisation criticised the role of EC, saying it had lost control over the election.
The incidents of violence and vote rigging were gradually on the rise from one phase to another, it claimed.
In a written statement, SHUJAN said: “The EC has failed to discharge its duty for holding free, fair and peaceful elections and to prevent vote fraud, irregularities and violence centring the upazila polls.”
It observed that political parties were violating the electoral code of conduct by meddling in the local body polls, which should be non-partisan in nature.
The organisation called upon the EC, political parties and the government to make an all-out effort to hold the next phase of upazila election in a controversy- and violence-free manner.
In the press conference, SHUJAN disclosed a series of information about chairman hopefuls fighting for the fifth phase upazila parishad election to be held Monday next.
A total of 360 candidates are contesting the posts in 74 upazilas in fifth phase.
SHUJAN, however, talked about 354 aspiring chairmen. Affidavits of the remaining six candidates were not available.
Of the 354, at least 161 completed graduation while 77 could not complete SSC, according to the report of SHUJAN.
Among the candidates, 112 are accused of different cases including murder.
At least five candidates earn more than Tk1 crore annually while 58 contestants own properties worth more than Tk1 crore.
Among others, local government expert Tofail Ahmed and Shujan officials were present at the press conference.
