Union Parishad elections a farce, says BNP

The BNP has alleged large-scale malpractices and violence in the fifth phase of the Union Parishad (UP) polls. The party has accused the Election Commission of doing nothing about such circumstances.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 28 May 2016, 11:34 AM
Updated : 28 May 2016, 01:59 PM

Voters in 717 unions have exercised their franchise on Saturday in the latest of the six phase polls.

Polls kicked off at 8am and ended at 4pm.

A BNP delegation led by its Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan met the chief election commissioner around 2pm.

“The polls have been marred by booth capture, fake vote and malpractices. This is a farce in the name of voting,” Khan told the media later.

He claimed that the Commission was ‘very well aware’ of the situation, but had not been taking any corrective measures.

“The local administrations are helping the ruling party and the EC (election commission) is helping the ruling party.

“As always, we have spoken to the CEC and filed a written complaint. But what’s the point? Nothing changes,” said the senior BNP leader.

Meanwhile, BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told a media briefing at the party headquarters that people’s right to vote was being ‘looted’ through the EC’s ‘direct intervention.’

Asked whether the BNP wanted fresh elections, he replied, “What’s the use of making any complaint to this election commission?”

He said the commission had been acting ‘totally at the behest of the government.’ “They are only saving their jobs, not democracy.”