The national election of December 30 has turned the life of Mofiz Uddin upside down -- and all for supporting BNP.

From a decent tea-shop vendor at Rabeya market of Bonkishore village in Rajshahi's Tanore upazila, the 48-year old man now works on a potato field.

“I have been a dedicated BNP worker since the 90s,” Mofiz said. “If I have committed a crime, it would be my engagement with BNP.”

In a tin-roofed earthen room under a Koroi tree at the market, Mofiz started the shop and ran it for over the last 20 years.

Furnished with a television, eight chairs, five tables, four benches and a few racks of bakery items, sweets and groceries, his tea-shop fetched him around Tk 3,000 a day to support his family of seven.

On December 21, Mofiz joined the election campaign for BNP candidate Aminul Haq when the latter went to Pachondor union.

Later that evening, a group of stick wielding men went to the market and ransacked the outside of his tea-shop, according to eye-witnesses.

“The attackers were outsiders, not known to me,” said a local businessman.

“I heard about the attack on my shop when I reached home, after campaigning that day,” said Mofiz. A friend of his called him from the market and told him to hide as the attackers were looking for him.

Until polls day, local AL men used the tea-shop as the election office of Awami League candidate Omor Faruk Chowdhury.

“Two days after the election ended, some local AL workers damaged what was left of the shop, including the earthen room, tin-roof, furniture, television, and everything else inside.”

Locals told this correspondent that they heard the AL men would build a party office in that place.

When contacted, Reaz Uddin, president of AL unit at Pachondor ward-2, said, “We are yet to decide on building our office there. If not an office, we may construct a passengers' shed that will come to the use of many.”

He said the land was 'khas' and Mofiz had been illegally occupying it.

On the identity of the attackers, he said, “Nobody knows them. They were wearing helmets and came to the village on motorcycles.”

He denied that it was local AL men who had damaged the shop after the election.

“It was Mofiz's brother, nephew and son who damaged the shop,” he said. On why Mofiz's own relatives would damage the shop, Reaz did not have an explanation.

When contacted, Rajshahi Superintendent of Police Md Shahidullah said they had not heard about the incident.

“We will investigate all allegations of post-election violence,” said the SP, adding that police circulated a message in the district so that no one would spread fear among others over feuds during the election.

Upon losing his source of income, Mofiz began work as day labourer on the potato fields to make ends meet, earning a mere Tk 300 a day.

“I am living in fear. I could not even go see the condition of my shop, the one I so dearly built from scratch,” he said. 

At least three journalists, including a photojournalist of this paper, were assaulted during parliamentary polls in Dhaka and Chattogram yesterday, while a number of journalists covering polls for this paper faced obstructions from activists of political parties and law enforcers in the capital.

Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo of The Daily Star and Al Amin, a staff reporter of Chattogram-based online news portal Cvoice24.com, came under  attack by alleged ruling party men while covering election proceedings.

Meanwhile, senior reporter of Bangla daily Manab Zamin Kafi Kamal was assaulted while returning from a polling centre after casting vote in Moghbazar.

Apurbo was assaulted by five to six men in front of Shahjadpur Model Government Primary School in Gulshan around 12:05pm.

The attackers, wearing badges of Awami League electoral symbol “boat”, came out of a crowd and started questioning him while he was taking photographs well outside the polling centre.

At one point, they swooped on him and beat him up indiscriminately. The attackers broke his spectacles and took away his cell phone.

However, with help from on-duty police personnel, he got his cell phone back, on condition of deleting some photos of polls atmosphere from it.

Al Amin alleged he was injured in his forehead by some 15 miscreants while trying to enter Bepza High School polling centre in the port city around 10:30am, reports our Chattogram correspondent.

The attackers, who were near the polling centre during voting hours, swooped on him after knowing his professional identity, he further alleged.

He was rescued by some locals, and later took treatment at a local clinic.

The polling booths, inset, inside are devoid of voters. Photo: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo

Contacted, Officer-in-Charge Mir Nurul Huda of EPZ Police Station said he was unaware about the incident.

Police would take action if a complaint is filed, he added.

Kafi Kamal said he, along with his wife, was returning from Eskaton Garden School on a CNG-run auto-rickshaw around 9am.

Seeing some people beating up a few youths in front of Moghbazar BTCL School centre, he came down from the auto-rickshaw and tried to take photos and videos of the incident from a safe distance, Kafi said.

Suddenly, some youths wearing badges of “boat” symbol surrounded him, snatched away his cell phone and started kicking and punching him.

Kafi said he was rescued by two other journalists passing by, and received treatment at a nearby hospital. He had to get four stitches above his left eye.

STAR JOURNOS OBSTRUCTED

Besides, a number of journalists of this paper, who were carrying identity cards issued by the Election Commission, were also obstructed in different ways, including denial of entry to polling centres, by on-duty law enforcement agency members and alleged ruling party men across Dhaka city.

As per EC guideline, journalists carrying EC-issued identity cards were allowed to enter polling centres without any obstruction.

AKM Zamir Uddin was not allowed to enter AKM Rahmatullah Degree College in Uttar Badda area around 9am. Upon learning that he is a journalist, a man wearing badge of “boat” symbol told him not to enter the polling centre, and “offered a cup of tea”.

Rafiul Islam was repeatedly obstructed by on-duty police and Ansar men from entering nine out of the 10 polling centres under Dhaka-4 constituency, keeping him waiting outside the main gate in most cases while the law enforcers got “permission” from inside the centres.

In Shyampur under Dhaka-4, a senior reporter of this paper who wished not to be named, was kept waiting for over half an hour by police personnel, for “taking permission from authorities” to let him in at Faridabad High School polling centre.

Sohel Parvez was denied entry at four centres in Dhaka-6 constituency. He was pushed and shoved at Dhaka Central Girl's High School centre by some men wearing badges of Jatiya Party electoral symbol “plough”, and was forced to leave the place.

Reporter Muhammad Zahidul Islam and photojournalist Amran Hossain were stopped at the gate of the Shaheed Zia Basabo High Scool under Dhaka-9 by law enforcers, saying photojournalists were not allowed inside. Later, they went in after the presiding officer came to the gate.

Zahidul Islam was also prevented by activists wearing badges of “boat” from entering a polling centre in Modhubagh, under Dhaka-12 constituency.

Photojournalist Palash Khan was prevented by activists of Awami League from entering Manipur High School polling centre in Mirpur under Dhaka-15.

Our reporters at Kalachandpur Government High School and College in the capital, as well as at polling centres in Bandarban and Barishal, also faced obstructions in covering the election.

Previous parliamentary opposition Jatiya Party (JP) today expressed dissatisfaction over the outcome of the 11th parliamentary election held Sunday.

Reflecting on it today, the party's Secretary General Mashiur Rahman Ranga said: “The party expected to win more than 22 seats in the election”.

However, he said, “Our party is now stronger than before”.

“We will decide tomorrow whether we will remain as an opposition in the parliament,” he said; adding “the joint meeting will be held with the newly elected lawmakers and standing committee members at 11:00am tomorrow”.

HOW WAS THE ELECTION?

Voting for the 11th parliamentary election ended peacefully in Dhaka; but was tainted with violence elsewhere across the country and cost the lives of at least 19 people.

Reports of casualties came in from Cumilla, Chattogram, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Rangamati, Cox’s Bazar, Bogura, Noakhali, Narsingdi and Gazipur.

Allegations of vote rigging, election clashes, intimidation and irregularities came in from several other constituencies and capital Dhaka city.

Also, the election saw opposition candidates boycotting elections in at least 43 constituencies; 42 of who were Jatiya Oikyafront runners.

BNP yesterday lauded the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) study over irregularities in the December 30 national election and said it was a “cause for heartburn” for both the government and the Election Commission.

“The government's ministers and the Election Commission have been failing to hide their faces in shame as TIB has unveiled the absolute truth about vote rigging,” BNP's Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed said yesterday.

Speaking at a press conference at the party's Nayapaltan central office in Dhaka, Rizvi said now their [the government and EC] efforts to conceal the truth has gone in vain as people are informed of everything that transpired the day before national election.

TIB, in its study on Tuesday, said electoral irregularities like stamping ballot papers the night before the polls and ballot stuffing by capturing booths on election day happened in 47 out of 50 constituencies that were surveyed at random.

Rizvi, also the spokesperson of BNP, said different international organisations have come up with reports on vote rigging in the December 30 national election while several democratic countries termed the election questionable.

“They did not recognise the fake election; they even demanded investigation into the allegation of vote rigging. World leaders have also described the election as the worst in history,” the BNP leader said.

Mentioning that people sacrificed their lives for the country's independence, Rizvi said they [people] will do the same, if necessary, for the sake of their voting rights and democracy.