Counting on in 81 upazilas after violent voting

Counting of votes in 81 upazila parishads across 41 districts is on after violent voting in the third phase of the local body elections Saturday.  The voting was held from 8am to 4pm without break amid violence, capturing of polling stations and election boycott by at least nine chairman candidates, according to a news agency. In Bagerhat’s Kachua upazila, an Islami Chhatra Shibir activist was killed and an Awami League activist injured in a clash between the supporters of a Jamaat-backed candidate and two ruling party-supported candidates. The deceased was identified as Manzurul Islam, 24, an activist of Shibir’s Bagerhat PC College unit and son of Afzal Hossain of Tengrakhali village.  The nine chairman candidates, mostly BNP-backed ones, announced the withdrawal from the election race in four districts — Barisal, Bagerhat, Comilla and Shariatpur — raising the allegations of polling station capture, stuffing fake votes and other election irregularities.  “Voting was suspended in nine polling stations,” Election Commissioner Shah Nawaz told reporters at the Election Commission Secretariat around 2:30pm. The election was largely peaceful,” he said.  In Barisal, four chairman candidates announced their withdrawal from the polls race bringing the allegations of driving out their agents from polling stations and casting fake votes in Muladi upazila.
 In Bagerhat, three chairman candidates — one each in Sadar, Sharankhola and Morrelganj upazilas – boycotted the polls on charges of various election irregularities.  In Comilla, BNP-backed chairman candidate Nazir Ahmed Bhuiyan boycotted the polls in Nangalkot upazila, raising the same allegations.  In Shariatpur sadar, BNP-backed chairman candidate Mahbub Morshed Tipu also boycotted the election.  In Chittagong, supporters of AL-blessed chairman candidate torched two houses and a candle factory of BNP-Jamaat men at Terial in Sitakund around 11:15am, leaving two people injured.  Away in Chandnaish, at least seven people were injured as the supporters of an AL-backed candidate attacked the motorcade of 19-party-backed chairman candidate.