Violence and turbulence marred the elections in Bangladesh as the country attempts to move from a transitional government to an elected one
Violence and turbulence marred the elections in
Bangladesh as the country attempts to move from a transitional government to an elected one. According to Bangladeshi News outlet The Daily Star, at least 72 people have been wounded in 14 separate instances of violence during the voting across Bangladesh.
The country has been conducting the
13th National Elections after being under the transitional government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. The polls are significant since they are the first ones conducted after the overthrow of Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina’s government.
Violence disrupted voting at several centres, prompting interventions by police and army personnel. Law enforcement officials have detained at least nine people in two incidents – five in Munshiganj and four in Jhalakathi, The Daily Star reported.
Several polling stations faces instance of violence
At least 31 people, including a BTV journalist, were wounded in Noakhali’s Hatiya amid a clash between the supporters of the
National Citizen Party and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Hatiya Police Station Officer-in-Charge Saiful Alam told The Daily Star that the clash was reportedly triggered by attempts to exert influence at a polling centre.
“Several people were injured in the incident. No complaint has been filed so far,” the OC told the Bangladeshi newsoutlet. Meanwhile, in Bagerhat’s Sharankhola, at least 19 people were hurt in a clash between supporters of Jamaat and BNP candidates.
Police and locals said that the incident took place on a road leading to a polling centre in Sonatola village. Four people were injured and were admitted to Khulna Medical College Hospital, and another four to Sharankhola Upazila Health Complex. In Meherpur, clashes between BNP and
Jamaat supporters left nine people injured.
BNP leader dies in a violent scuffle
While the voting was underway on Thursday, a
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader was killed during an altercation with Jamaat-e-Islami activists outside a polling centre in Khulna.
The BNP said that the politician, identified as Mohibuzzaman Kochi, 55, was a former office secretary of the Khulna city unit of the BNP. According to BD News, the incident took place at 8:10 am (local time) on Thursday at the Alia Madrasah polling station in Khulna Sadar.
“There was tension at the Alia Madrasah polling station since the morning. The principal of Alia Madrasa was campaigning for the Jamaat there,” said former organising secretary of Khulna Sadar Thana BNP Yusuf Harun Majnu. “When he was obstructed, he pushed Mohibuzzaman Kochi. He struck a tree and hit his head. That is why he died.”
Meanwhile, in the capital, some voters also claimed that they were unable to vote due to discrepancies. Overall, tensions in Bangladesh remain at an all-time high.
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