Dhaka: At least 10 people have been killed, including six shot dead by security forces, and about a thousand others injured in polls-related violence during local elections in Bangladesh, police said on Wednesday.
Much of the violence was in the southern coastal town of Mathabria, where clashes broke out yesterday when thousands of ruling party supporters attacked police and border guards taking ballot boxes to the government headquarters. At least five persons were killed and several others injured in Mathbaria that saw the deadliest violence.
Apart from this, two persons were killed in Cox’s Bazar and one each in Jhalakathi, Netrakona and Sirajganj in polls-related violence, The Daily Star reported. Police opened fire when the ruling party workers refused to move away after hearing that their candidate was losing. Three persons died on the spot while three others passed away on way to hospital in Barisal, media reports said.
Awami League activists had laid siege to a college centre where the counting was under way, said police official Abu Ashraf. Most of the dead were ruling party supporters, the report said.
On Tuesday, 712 Union Parishad went to the polls, held on the party lines for the first time. The Election Commission initially had planned to conduct elections to 730 Union Parishad but it had to postpone the polls in 18 places due to legal complications. (PTI)
Elections to 643 Union Parishad are slated for March 31 in the second phase and 681 Union Parishad on April 23 in the third phase. Around 2,200 unions will go to polls in three more phases till June. The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has said almost all the local council polls were marred by violence, rigging and fraud including ballot-stuffing by the ruling party supporters.
The elections will not change the political landscape of the country, but a sweeping victory would consolidate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s hold on power ahead of the general elections in 2019. (PTI)
