EC can’t be blamed over UZ polls violence: CEC

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad Wednesday said the responsibility for the violence taken place during the recently-held staggered upazila elections in his absence does not go to the Election Commission , reports UNB.
The CEC made the remark at a press conference at the EC's media centre while announcing election schedules for another 14 upazila parishads in the afternoon.
Replying to a query whether the commission will take the responsibility of violence and irregularities, the CEC said, "Why should we take the responsibility… had we not deployed the army, you could have said there was a lapse in our security measures. But, we'd taken the highest security measures!"
"If anyone hits the head of another with a stick, then what can we do? We're unable to know about it beforehand. There had been violence as all were desperate to win the polls at any cost, even if people didn't vote one. "It can't be pinpointed whose responsibility it is," an aggrieved CEC told the journalists.
Rakibuddin said the violence would have taken place during the upazila elections even if he had been there in the country.
The CEC, who appeared before the media for the first time after he joined the office following his return from the USA after a 42-day vacationing there, faced a volley of questions from the journalists about the polls violence and his absence at a time when the staggered local body polls were underway.
In reply to a query as to why the CEC went on vacation forgetting
about his duty to arrange the crucial elections, Rakibuddin said, "It was my personal matter. I had my personal business apart from the official ones. But I'd taken steps in my absence."
As his attention was drawn to the criticisms by both the ruling alliance and other political parties for his absence during the election, the CEC said, "It's not necessary that political parties will wrap us with cotton wool all the time. They can criticise. There' s no problem."