The New Nation - Internet Edition

Talha Bin Habib and Pankaj Karmakar

The Upazila election in Munshiganj and Narayanganj districts were marked by lack of interest of voters and clash between supporters of candidates.

In Shimulia Government Primary School polling centre in Gazaria upazila of Munshiganj district was suspended in the morning following the snatching of a ballot box from the centre.

Police arrested a schoolboy named Jewel (16) from Maddhya Bausia Primary School centre under the same upazila along with a revolver and three rounds of bullet when polling was going on. But the relatives of the arrestee claimed that Jewel was a victim of conspiracy.

In the last parliamentary elections on December 29, 2008, the voters spontaneously participated in the polls but 23 days after this in the upazila elections peoples showed reluctance to attend in the poll centres.

In Binodpur Ram Kumar High School, the largest polling centre of the Sadar upazila, all the polling booths were empty till around 2:30pm. Rajbuddin Ahmed, presiding officer of the polling centre informed that 25 to 30 percent votes were cast till then.

In PTI Government School, in the town 46 voted were cast till10:00 am and in Idrakpur Government Primary School 67 voted were cast till the same time.

In other polling centres including Munshigonj Government High School, Haragonga College, Munshigonj Girls School, Munshigonj KK Government Institutions the same scenario were noticed.

Beside this a clash occured in Gazaria upazila centering a blind voter. In that time chase and counter chase took place between the supporters of Refatullah Tota and Amirul Islam. They attack the presiding officer, vandalised polling centres and snatched ballot boxes. Later polling in that centre was cancelled.

Talking to the New Nation Kazi Wahid, Chairman candidate of Tangibari Upazila claimed that the election was held in fair manner in his electoral area.

There are 386 polling centres in 6 upazilas in Munshigonj, while the numbers of voters are 8,75,078. Among them the number of male voters is 428585 and that of female voters is 446493

At least 45 candidates participated in polls for the chairman post, 46 for vice chairman (male) and 29 for vice chairman (female).

The upazila elections were held in a free, fair and peaceful manner apart from some sporadic incident across the country, although the presence of voters was around 50 percent.

The elections at Sonargaon upazila in Narayanganj was held peacefully yesterday with nearly sixty to seventy percent of turn- out of votes in all the 87 polling centres of the upazila.

Polls at the upazila were free from undue influence due to strict enforcement of electoral code of conduct.

However, there was a minor incidence of altercation between the supporters of two vice-chairman candidates (women) at Hamshadi Primary School that had no negative impact on the smooth conduct of the polls.

While visiting different polling centres at the upazila this correspondent found voters waiting in long queues for casting their votes.

Voters of different ages and from all walks of life cast their votes with great enthusiasm free from intimidation and undue influence by the activists of the candidates.

" I cast my vote freely and without influence by the candidates," Advocate AKM Zahidul Azad Nazrul told the New Nation correspondent at Goaldi Primary School.

Three persons contested for the post of chairman, five for vice-chairman (male) and eight were in the race for vice chairmanship (female) in the just concluded upazila polls.