CEC fears violence during Upazila Parishad polls

The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal has feared chaos and violence in the upcoming Upazila Parishad polls.

"The election must be fair at any cost,” he said at a meeting held with all divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners, regional election officers and superintendents of police at the auditorium of Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon in the capital on Thursday. 

In his welcome address, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal said: "Failure in this election may undermine the democratic continuity that was established in the last parliamentary polls. It has to be proved through a fair election that there is democracy in Bangladesh.”

Earlier,  Election Commission Secretary Md Jahangir Alam said he does not see any threat of violence centring the upcoming Upazila Parishad polls.

The Upazila Parishad elections will proceed in phases, with 150 and 160 upazilas expected to vote in the first and second phases respectively. Phase three, involving 112 upazilas, is scheduled for May 29, followed by the fourth phase on June 5.