Amu violated polls rule: EC
The Election Commission (EC) today asked the cabinet secretary to draw the prime minister's attention about violation of electoral code of conduct by Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu in the run-up to Sunday's upazila polls.
The commission sent a letter to the cabinet secretary to this matter, said sources at the EC.
Referring to a report published in The Daily Star on Saturday, the letter said the minister violated electoral code of conduct by joining the election campaign.
"Attention of the prime minister should be drawn about the incident," said the letter signed by Jesmin Tuli, joint secretary of the EC Secretariat.
Amu on Friday at a public meeting introduced Awami League-backed upazila chairman candidate for Rajapur upazila of Jhalakathi, which went to polls on Sunday.
Electoral code of conduct strictly prohibits the speaker in parliament, deputy speaker, chief whip, ministers, state ministers and any persons having the ranks equivalent to these designations from electioneering of any kind in the polls to the upazila parishads.
The minister along with local lawmaker BH Haroon and several AL leaders attended the meeting organised by the upazila unit AL at Bypass Mor [intersection] marking the 94th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
All AL leaders except the minister sought vote for AL-backed chairman candidate Moniruzzaman. Amu, however, introduced Moniruzzaman as the AL-backed candidate and sought everyone's prayers for him, but did not seek vote.
A report to this matter was published in The Daily Star a day after the incident.
SHAH NAWAZ BRIEFING
Election Commissioner Shah Nawaz today claimed that the volume of violence in Sunday's election was not so high that people had apprehended.
However, he also admitted that the intensity of violence has increased gradually in phases of the upazila parishad elections.
The commissioner was talking to reporters at his office at the EC Secretariat.
He also claimed that the contesting candidates, in many cases, do not cooperate with the EC in making the polls free and fair. Candidates’ tendency of exercising muscle power is one of the main reasons of violence.
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