Intimidation, low turnout mar Bangladesh's local polls election commissioner (Roundup)

Jan 22, 2009, 15:00 GMT

Dhaka - Sporadic violence and voter intimidation, allegedly by ruling party activists, marred Bangladesh's local elections Thursday, forcing the authorities to suspend voting in many polling centres, election officials said.

Reports from the countryside said that the activists drove away the polling agents of their rivals, harassed and beat up election officials and toom control of a number of polling stations at different districts.

At least 200 people were reportedly injured as the rivals clashed to take control of the poling stations, while the authorities called off elections to six sub-districts, officials at the election commission said.

Thursday's voting for local government sub-district councils, or Upazila Parishads, was taking place for the first time in nearly two decades amid heightened security across Bangladesh.

Concluding the voting, Chief Election Commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda, at a press briefing in the evening, admitted that the election was marred by capturing of polling centres, keeping voters away and snatching of ballot papers and ballot boxes by a section of people.

'There have been incidents of unwarranted pressures,' the CEC said, alleging that newly-appointed ministers and lawmakers influenced the election process.

Ruling Awami League-backed candidates were leading in the elections as results from the districts started pouring in to the Election Commisison.

Unexpectedly poor voter turnout proved frustrating to the election authorities, as polling officers reported irregularities and fraud in balloting by the supporters of the Awami League of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed.

'Voter turnout is unexpectedly poor for various reasons,' Election Commissioner Sohul Hossain told reporters at his office.

Reports coming in from the countryside say that ruling party supporters drove away polling agents of their rivals, harassed election officials and captured a number of polling stations.

Election officials completely called off balloting in at least six out of 481 upazila polls. Authorities will rearrange polling at a later time, an official of the election commission said.

The upazila councils are constitutionally mandated to run local administrations and implement of schemes for social and economic development. The last elections to these positions were held in 1990.

After a spate of pre-election violence, the election commission was earlier forced to cancel voting in two sub-district councils and deployed over 500,000 law enforcement officers to prevent violence on election day and afterwards.

Troops were also deployed to aid civil administration officials. Authorities announced a public holiday Thursday to facilitate voting.

Police detained several Awami League activists for their alleged involvement in trouble-making.

The local elections are a first test for the new government which won a landslide victory in parliamentary polls less than a month ago, ending two years of military rule.

The parliamentary elections, conducted by the army-backed interim administration of Fakhruddin Ahmed, were generally peaceful with local and international observers calling them credible.

Successive governments since the restoration of parliamentary democracy in 1991 have kept upazilas dysfunctional either by dissolving the system or by not forming the bodies through elections.