EC fails to play its due role: Experts

The Election Commission (EC) failed to exert its due constitutional power and play its due role in ensuring a level-playing field and checking various irregularities in Tuesday's Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) polls, said election experts and observers, reports UNB.

"The election atmosphere was very good with the presence of huge voters in the morning, but it got destroyed with the passage of time. We've seen many irregularities in the afternoon," Dr Md Abdul Alim, director of Election Working Group (EWG), which monitored the GCC polls, told the news agency.

Election expert Dr Tofail Ahmed said, "We've seen the Commission was always silent about BNP's allegations."

Former Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain said he got an impression from the media reports that Gazipur polls were held in the same manner as was in Khulna with various irregularities, including forcing out of polling agents and vote frauds. Badiul Alam Majumder, general secretary of Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Sujan) which also observed the polls, said the election was marred by widespread irregularities, including vote rigging, stuffing ballots and keeping polling stations under control by ruling party men .

Besides, the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) on the day rejected the Gazipur City Corporation elections terming it "staged" and its result "unacceptable".

In a statement, its president Mujahidul Islam Selim and secretary general Md Shah Alam said that many polling agents could not be present in several areas other than those belonging to the ruling party.