The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The four-party alliance leaders yesterday complained to the Election Commission (EC) against a large section of print and electronic media for violating the election rules by providing news and talk-shows terming Jamaat-e-Islami leaders as war criminals.

Requested by them, Chief Election Commissioner Dr ATM Shamsul Huda urged the media to refrain from presenting news with personal aspersions on the candidates contesting the forthcoming polls.

"The Election Commission's unanimous word to all the media is that you should not assassinate the personal character of the candidates," he told reporters at the EC secretariat in reply to a question.

Jamaat leader Barrister Abdur Razzak after their meeting with the EC told journalists that a private TV channel presented news dubbing "one ally of the four-party alliance as war criminal violating the rules of the Representation of People Order (RPO)".

He said, "Nobody should term any person war criminal without proof and the court verdict. This is a clear violation of the law."

While asked about the allegation against media, Dr Shamsul Huda said the commission had a plan to make media code of conduct on election news coverage but this was not implemented for some reasons.

"Now we hope that all media will present the news on factual basis by leaving out rumours," he said.

Replying to a question, the CEC said the commission would sit with the executives of the news media to ask them to present unbiased news during the election. "We'll talk to the executives in this regard," he said.

Replying to another question, he said that the EC was yet to decide whether mobile phones would be open or not on the Election Day.

About the court orders in returning the election symbols to some candidates, the CEC said the commission decided that Manzur Kader in Sirajganj-5 and Mobasher Alam Bhuiyan in Commilla-10 were given the election-symbol Paddy Sheaf while Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir got boat in Chandpur-1 parliamentary constituency. "We've lawfully done the job," he said.

Asked about the present situation in the country concerning the election, he said the whole atmosphere in the country remained better. "There're no problems in the country."

The four-party alliance delegation included BNP joint Secretary General Nazrul Islam Khan and adviser to BNP Abdul Halim, Jamaat leaders Adv Jasim Uddin Sarker, Barrister Abdur Razzak and Abdul Qader Mohllah, BJP leader Shamim Al Mamun and IOJ leader Maolana Jubaer Ahmed.

After meeting the Commission, Nazul Islam Khan told reporters that they came on behalf of the alliance to lodge complaint as some opponent parties have been conducting their campaigns that "disrupted the fair election atmosphere".