Four university students remain missing since they were allegedly picked up by plainclothes men in the capital's Farmgate area on Saturday, the day before national election.

Their families yesterday held a press conference at Crime Reporters' Association Bangladesh, demanding safe return of the youths.

The missing are: Abu Khaled Mohammad Jabed, 25, a third year student of Bangla at Asian University; Borhan Uddin, 26, English student at Stamford University; Rezaul Khalek, 24, final year student of Pharmacy at Manarat University; and Syed Maminul Hasan, 27, former student of a Unani Ayurvedic Medical College.

“We are very anxious about their fate, as we have been out of contact with them for two days,” said Jabed's brother-in-law Yeasin Karim at the press conference.

He urged law enforcers to rescue the youths or to produce them before the court if they were detained for any crime.

Some plainclothes men identifying themselves as law enforcers dragged them out of a bus in Farmgate on their way home in Mirpur-1 after shopping at Aziz Super Market, Yeasin said quoting a friend of theirs who was also in the bus but escaped detention.

“We contacted local police stations and other wings of law enforcement agencies but all denied picking Jabed up,” he said.

The families drew attention of national and international human rights organisations to be vocal for their release.

Contacted, Abdul Baten, additional commissioner (detectives) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said they did not detain the youths.

Mufti Mahmud Khan, Rab's Legal and Media wing director also said they did not carry out any drive in Farmgate on that day.

Condemning violence in Bangladesh, the United Nations has urged all sides to show restraint and ensure a peaceful post electoral environment in the country.

The USA and the European Union have also denounced violence over the just concluded parliamentary elections, and called for addressing all electoral complaints in a peaceful manner.

Welcoming the participation of all major political parties in the general election for the first time in 10 years, they said it was a positive development which reflected aspirations of people for democracy.

The spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement on Monday said, “The United Nations is aware of violent incidents and reports of irregularities in the Bangladesh general election.”

The UN regretted the loss of life and injuries sustained by candidates and voters during the electoral campaign and on the voting day, it said.

US STATEMENT

The US in a statement yesterday commended the Bangladeshis who voted in the election as well as the decision of all major opposition parties to participate.

“The United States remains deeply invested in the future of Bangladesh and its democratic development. The United States is Bangladesh's largest foreign investor, largest single-country market for Bangladeshi exports, and home to a large community of Americans of Bangladeshi origin,” said Robert Palladino, deputy spokesperson of the US state department.

However, it expressed concern over reports of harassment, intimidation, and violence in the pre-election period saying that those incidents made it difficult for many opposition candidates and their supporters to meet, hold rallies, and campaign freely. “We are also concerned that election-day irregularities prevented some people from voting, which undermined faith in the electoral process.”

He said his country strongly encourages all parties to refrain from violence and request the EC to work constructively with all sides to address claims of irregularities.

“Bangladesh's impressive record of economic development and respect for democracy and human rights are mutually reinforcing, and we look forward to continue working with the ruling government and opposition towards advancing these interrelated goals,” reads the statement.

EU STATEMENT

The EU said the mobilisation of voters and the participation of the opposition in the polls reflected the people's aspirations for democracy.

“However, violence has marred the election day, and significant obstacles to a level playing field remained in place throughout the process and have tainted the electoral campaign and the vote,” an EU spokesperson said in a statement yesterday.

Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy of the EU, in his statement said the relevant authorities should now ensure a proper examination of allegations of irregularities and commit to full transparency in their resolution.

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.

The Election Commission (EC) today sent a letter to the parliament secretary for taking necessary preparation to organise the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected lawmakers of the 11th general election.

EC Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed said this while talking to reporters at the EC office today.

The MP-elect will take oath at the oathroom of the parliament at 11:00am tomorrow, sources at the Parliament Secretariat confirmed.

Yesterday, the commission published the gazette with details of 298 MPs with the EC’s approval.

According to the article 148 (2A) of the Constitution, the newly elected members of parliament will be obliged to take oath within three days after the publication of election results through official gazette, or else their memberships will cease to exit.

The new cabinet may take oath on Sunday.

In the December 30 parliamentary election, the AL-led Grand Alliance won 288 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad against the BNP-led Oikyafront's seven. 

Three independent candidates also became victorious.

The election in Brahmanbaria-2 was suspended as voting at three polling centres was suspended over violence. Polling in those centres will be held on January 9.

Polls in Gaibanda-3 were rescheduled for January 27 following the death of a candidate.  

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.