AL wins absolute majority; oppn extends hartal by 48 hours
Massive violence killing at least 21 deaths, rigging and low turnout marked the 10th parliament election held across the country yesterday. According to the preliminary results announced from offices of the Returning Officers across the country, the voter turnout was over 40 percent but it is alleged that massive rigging was conducted by the ruling party activists to jack up the turnout ratio.
According to the witness accounts, the voter turnout was as low as 10 percent at 3 pm in many polling centres but wholesale stuffing of ballots by ruling party activists boosted the figure to over 40 percent in those centres after the voting ended at 4 pm.
Meanwhile, polling at 500 centres in 22 constituencies were postponed due to violence.
AL has gained two-thirds majority in the 10th parliamentary election as it has already bagged 222 out of total 300 seats of the parliament.
Of the 147 seats for which the election was held on Sunday, unofficial results of 128 were announced till 1.30 am today. According to the results, AL won 95 seats, JP 14, JSD 3, Workers Party 2, BNF 1, rebel AL candidates 2 and independent 11 seats.
Among the 153 candidates, who were elected without contest, 127 belong to AL raising the AL seats to 222 out of 281 seats. Counting for the rest of the 19 seats was on till the filing of the report.
Among the AL heavyweights former state minister for public works Abdul Mannan Khan was defeated by JP state minister Salma Islam in Dhaka -1 constituency, AL presidium member Zafrullah Chowdhury was defeated by rebel AL candidate Mujubar Rahman Chowdhury Nixon in Faridpur 4, JP Chairman Ershad was defeated in Lalmonirhat -1 by former AL state minister M Motahar Hossain.
At least 15 candidates, including rebel contestant of Awami League in Sirajganj-5, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) candidate in Lalmonirhat-1, independent runner in Jamalpur-1 and Jatiya Party (Monju) candidate in Jamalpur-5, boycotted the polls on charges of vote rigging.
Opposition BNP said the defeat of the government has been ensured through the rejection of the controversial 10th general election by the people.
The 18-Party Opposition Alliance led by the BNP has called a 48-hour back-to-back countrywide shutdown from today demanding scrapping of the general elections.
BNP Chairperson’s Adviser Osman Farruq made the announcement in a press conference at the party chief’s Gulshan office.
He said the latest programme will continue simultaneously with its blockade for indefinite period.
But the ruling Awami League expressed its satisfaction over voter turnout, saying the ‘valiant people rejected” the opposition call to boycott the election.
This was stated by Co-chairman of Awami League
Election Steering Committee HT Imam and AL advisory council member Tofail Ahmed during separate conferences at the party chief’s Dhanmondi political office.
Briefing the newsmen at the Election Commission (EC) at 2 pm, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad said that the low turn out was resulted from the poll-boycott of the major opposition parties.
“We should be proud of our valiant people who came to the polling centers,” HT Imam said.
The election also touched a new low in voter turnout as till 1 pm, it was around 5 percent in most of the centres across the country .
According to the EC, the voter turnout was 53.54 percent in the 1973 election; in 1979, it was 51.28 percent; in 1986 it was 59.38 percent; in 1988 the turnout was 54.93 percent; in the fifth parliamentary polls held in 1991, it was 55.54 percent; in the 1996 election, dubbed a controversial one and boycotted by the then major Opposition Awami League, a mere 26.74 percent turnout was recorded.
In the seventh general election in 1996, the turnout was 75.60 per cent, EC sources said, adding that it was 74.73 percent in the eighth parliamentary polls held in 2001. In the election held under the military-backed caretaker government in 2008, the turnout was 86.34 percent, the highest so far.
A total of 43,938,938 voters out of the country’s 91,965,977 were supposed to exercise their franchise to choose the representatives in the 147 constituencies from 380 candidates.
Out of 40 registered political parties, only12 parties are contesting the election as the 18-party alliance and other political parties boycotted the election with demands that the election be held under a non-party administration.
Meanwhile, at least 21 people were killed and over 160 sustained injuries in fierce clashes between supporters of the BNP-Jamaat and Awami League as well as law enforcers across the country during the polls. Of the deceased, four people were killed in Thakurgaon and Dinajpurn each, two each in Nilphamari, Rangpur, Feni and one each in Laxmipur, Noagaon, Lalmonirhat, Munshiganj, Gaibandha, Jessore and Chittagong.
Our Thakurgaon correspondent said at least three people were killed, including a BNP supporter, during separate clashes between law enforcers and Awami League activists on Sunday. The deceased were identified as Harun (20), a BNP activist, Joynal (21), a van puller, and Abu Hanif (25), a shopkeeper.
Our correspondent from Dinajpur reported that at least three persons, including an Ansar man, were killed and 20 persons were injured in violence on Sunday. The Ansar man was lynched by Jamaat-Shibir men, one shot dead by law enforcement members and another person was killed during a clash between members of the AL and the BNP in Parbatipur upazila of Dinajpur.
The deceased were identified as Md Abdul Wahed (35), Raihan Masud (22), and Chunnu Mia (30) of Hoiburbur village under Parbatipur Upazila of Dinajpur.
Police, quoting witnesses, said about 400 armed Jamaat-Shibir men attacked Uttar Salandar Government Primary School in Parbatipur upazila at 11am on Sunday and started beating up the Ansar members and officers in the centre. Later, the Jamaat-Shibir men lynched Md Abdul Wahed. More than five persons, including two Ansar men and presiding officer Paban Kumar Sarker, were injured in this incident.
In another incident, Raihan Masud, general secretary of the Parbapitur upazila Jubo JAGPA, youth wing of Shafiul Alam Prodhan-led Jatiya Gonotantrik Party, was shot dead near the Co-operative High School centre at Monmathapur village in Parbatipur Upazila.
In a clash between supporters of the AL and the BNP near Khorakhai Baisnabpur Government Primary School, Chunnu Mia was injured critically. Later, he died on the way to Lamb Hospital in Parbatipur Upazila.
A Madrasa student, Salahuddin Ahmed (15), son of Abul Kalm of Bhogirpara village under Birganj upazila, succumbed to his injuries when he came under attack during a clash between Jamaat-Shibir men and law enforces during the election hour.
Our Rangpur correspondent reports that two people were killed and 10 others injured when anti-election activists snatched ballot boxes and other election-related materials from members of law enforcement agencies and torched a polling centre in Deuti Union under Pirgacha Upazila last night.
In Feni, a Jubo Dal and a Chhatra Dal leader were killed and 15 others injured in a clash with police at North Charchandia village in Sonagazi Upazila. An unidentified youth died as he fell into a waterbody after being chased by police in Tongibari Upazila of Munshiganj.
A Shibir activist was killed and 10 people were injured in a clash with police at Border Bazar in Ramganj Upazila of Laxmipur. The deceased was identified as Rubel Hossain (22).
In Nilphamari, two Jamaat activists were killed in clashes between police and anti-election activists at Balapara village in Jaldhaka and Dimla upazilas on Sunday morning. The deceased were identified as Momtajuddin (35), an activist of Balapara union unit of Jamaat, and Jahangir (28), an activist of the Beparitala unit of Jamaat.
In Lalmonirhat, Jubo Dal leader Faruk Hossain, who was injured in a clash between Awami League and BNP activists at Patgram upazila on Saturday, succumbed to his injuries at the Ranpur Medical College Hospital on Sunday.
In Naogaon, 18-Party leader Babul Hossain, 35, was killed during a clash with the joint forces when opposition leaders and activists tried to obstruct the people from casting votes at Chawkdebiram village under Manda upazila.
In Gaibandha, Awami League and Jamaat activists engaged in a clash at Babamdanga under Sundarganj upazila, leaving Shahabul, a Jamaat activist, dead on the spot and 10 others injured.
In Chittagong, a Shibir activist was killed in police firing during a clash between opposition activists and law enforcers in Lohagora upazila on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Lalu (23). The Shibir activist died on the spot when police opened fire on a number of opposition activists who attacked the Bhabanipur Government Primary School polling centre at 3:30pm.
-With The Independent input
