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.

Terming the 11th national election “farcical”, Islami Andolon Bangladesh (IAB) yesterday rejected the polls result and demanded immediate re-election under a non-partisan government.

“We are rejecting the election result as the opinion of the masses was not reflected in the polls. We strongly demand holding an immediate re-election under a non-partisan government,” said IAB Ameer Mufti Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim.

Rezaul Karim raised the demand at a press conference held at the party's central office in the capital's Paltan area.

The Islami Andolon Bangladesh chief said they will launch a strong movement by creating national unity if the demand is not met. 

The party might unite with Jatiya Oikyafront for a united movement to press home their demands, the IAB chief added.

Rezaul Karim said if the media was allowed to work freely on the polls day, they would have been able to gather information of vote rigging in thousands of polling stations. 

“The nation did not experience such a farcical election in the last 47 years,” he added.

The Election Commission, police and the administration were also involved in the scheme to ensure victory of AL-led grand alliance across the country, he alleged.

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.

The Awami League used party men, police and administration officials to influence the 11th parliamentary polls, BNP-led Jatiya Oikyafront leaders said yesterday at a “mass hearing”. 

The alliance leaders said ghost cases were filed against its activists and they were harassed and detained without warrants.

“There was no voting on December 30 and so the government formed from it is not valid,” said Maj Gen (retd) AMSA Amin, who had run with Dr Kamal Hossain-led Gonoforum ticket from Kurigram-2.         

The Oikyafront arranged the “mass hearing” on “so-called parliamentary election” at the Supreme Court Bar Association auditorium. A number of the alliance candidates had filed election petitions with the High Court challenging the December 30 polls results.

At least 41 candidates testified during the over seven-hour-long session of the “mass hearing” before a panel that included Dr Kamal and former Dhaka University vice-chancellor Prof Emajuddin Ahmed.

Leaders of the BNP and its political allies said they, by taking part in the December 30 polls, had “unmasked the ruling party”. Top BNP leaders, including its Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Vice-Chairman Abdullah Al Noman and Standing Committee Member Abdul Moyeen Khan attended the programme.

Sabina Yasmin, who ran from Natore-2, said, “I was getting ready to go to the polling stations after learning that my polling agents had been driven out of there on election day.”

She said she could not cast her vote even because her house had been padlocked from the outside that morning.

Detectives in plainclothes picked up her husband -- BNP Organising Secretary Ruhul Kuddus Talukder Dulu -- on December 12. Dulu is now in Keraniganj jail.

Sabina said on December 20 when they were distributing campaign flyers, 30 to 40 AL men harassed her and 15 women working for her campaign.

Four days later, about 500 armed AL men attacked her campaign team of 200, most of whom were women, said Sabina, adding that she along with her activists took cover in a drug store.

They were confined to the shop until police rea

Attendees at the programme offering prayers for the victims of the Chawkbazar fire. Photo: Prabir Das

“I hired fewer men [for the campaign] because they used to get clobbered with hammers,” she said.

Sabina claimed that she could not campaign after December 24.

Anisur Rahman Talukder, who was the BNP candidate for Madaripur-3, said the AL had repeatedly been saying that “the opposition party didn't campaign, didn't have posters printed, and didn't ask for votes”.

Whenever they tried to campaign, they were harassed, attacked, and their posters were torn, he said.

Several other candidates echoed him. Law enforcers cordoned off candidates' houses and when they or their activists came out of the houses, they were picked up, often without any arrest warrants, they said.

Anisur said he learnt from his sources on election day morning that 80 percent of the votes had been cast between 2:30am and 5:00am that day.

BNP leader Rumana Mahmud, who ran from Sirajganj-2, said police fired at her and her activists when they were campaigning on December 14. Her aide Mery Begum lost her eyesight in the attack, she said.

Sardar Sakhawat Hossain Bakul, BNP nominee for Narsingdi-4, alleged that his polling agents were ousted from 152 of 155 polling centres in his constituency on election day.

Nitai Roy Chowdhury, who ran from Magura-2 and bagged around 65,000 votes, alleged that before election day, police went to every ward, union and village in his constituency and threatened his party leaders and activists, detained some of them. They also harassed the women, he claimed.

BNP candidate for Satkhira-1 Habibul Islam Habib said he was nominated several times by the party and had bagged 1.46 lakh votes in the 2008 polls.

He said it was incredible that he got only 17,445 votes and had not got a single vote in 20 of 188 polling stations.

Other defeated candidates of the 11th parliamentary election also accused the ruling party, Election Commission, officials of the administration, intelligence and security personnel of violating the constitution and stripping people their right to vote.

Thanking the alliance members for arranging the “mass hearing”, Dr Kamal said, “It [December 30 polls] cannot be said an election but an event where the government in the name of election staged a farce.”

The government deprived the country's people of their rights, violated the constitution, and insulted democracy, he said.

Without mentioning any name, Dr Kamal said state servants who were in the administration should be ashamed of themselves because they forgot their constitutional duties and became servants of “a single individual”.

The eminent jurist also said BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia should be immediately released, unconditionally.

“It is a pity that even after 48 years of independence, we have to raise such demand for those who contributed to democracy,” he said, calling for unity to “restore” democracy in the country.