88 Upazilas in 47 districts go to fourth phase of Union Parishad election Saturday

The fourth phase of the staggered Union Parishad elections is slated for Saturday.

Polling will commence from 8am and close at 4pm as usual.

A public holiday has been declared in the polls-bound areas on Saturday.

Election Commission Secretary Sirazul Islam told bdnews24.com that security personnel, magistrates and other officials would patrol the polling areas continuously to ensure a smooth vote.

“All kinds of preparations are over. I hope free and fair polls will take place. Now all stakeholders must cooperate along with the EC for the smooth organisation of the polls,” he said.

Three phases of the six-phase elections came to an end on Apr 23.

                                                  Phase-4 fast facts

 

- Balloting in 703 UPs of 88 Upazilas in 47 districts

- Over 11 million voters

- 727 voting centres, polling starts 8am, ends at 4pm

- 3,245 run for chairman, 24,287 for general member, 7,159 for reserved seat

- Awami League won 35 chairmen, 227 general members and 94 reserved seats, uncontested

- Over 0.1 million polling officials, 0.15 million security personnel on duty

Since the Feb 11 schedule for the UP polls was announced, at least 70 people have lost their lives to poll-related violence.

In reaction, National Election Observer Council (Janipop) Chairman Prof Najmul Ahsan Kalimullah told bdnews24.com that the EC has pulled up its socks now.

“The EC and the security forces will ensure that no violence takes place,” he said.

He also urged the parties to show restraint to avoid violence.

While the ruling party Awami League has claimed the elections have been free and fair, it has accused the BNP of trying to conspire to portray that the elections are controversial.

The BNP, on its part, has hit out at the Awami League, blaming it for the violence that has riddled much of the elections. It has gone on to call the elections a farce.

The BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has accused the ruling party of attacking BNP workers.

“They have continued with their violence and complaints lodged with the administration have yielded no results,” he said.

On the other hand, Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbub-Ul Alam Hanif has faulted the BNP for shooting off the shoulders of rebel League leaders and workers to taint the ruling party’s image.

Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad has said they have stepped up initiatives to bring down election-related violence to “zero level”. 

“Violence has taken place due to the intolerance shown by the workers of various political parties. We seek everyone’s cooperation.

“Compared with the past we have had greater positive results now. We hope in the coming days elections will be held peacefully without any trouble,” he added.

Party and candidates

 

- 14 parties and 3, 245 candidates in the fray for the 4th phase

- 1, 522 independent candidates

- Awami League fields no candidate in Bholaganj UP

- BNP fields no candidates in 106 UPs

- Voting in 12 UPs suspended on account of allegations

- Candidates include 747 of Awami League, 619 of BNP, 156 of Jatiya Party, 42 of JaSoD, 9 of Bangladesh Workers’ Party, 154 of Bangladesh Islami Andolan.

Until now one SP, and at least 10 OCs have been withdrawn, a case has been started against one MP, a UP chairman and a mayor have been suspended.

Also, an MP has been directed to leave the area and an SP and five OCs have been issued showcauses over incidents relating to the ongoing UP polls.

Deputy Secretary of the election management wing of the EC Farhad Ahmed Khan said, “We hope the Saturday polls will be comparatively better due to the recent steps taken by the EC. All directions have been issued keeping the ensuing polls in mind,” he said.

The six-phase elections are slated to end on June 4.    

According to the EC, voter turnout has been 74 percent, 78 percent and 76 percent respectively for the first three phases.

The Awami League has secured as many as 494 chairman posts while the BNP has managed only 50 in the first phase.

Independent candidates won 109 UP posts and another 54 Awami League candidates were declared winners without a contest in the same round of polls.

In the second phase, the Awami League won 411 and the BNP 63 , while 117 won as independent candidates and another 34 emerged winners uncontested in the second phase.

In the third phase, the Awami League won 366, BNP 60, independents 139 and 29 were elected unopposed.