EC oblivious to attack on candidates

As news reports pour in from all over the country about clashes and conflicts, the people’s hope for a peaceful election steadily diminishes. It is not only the activists and supporters whom are being assaulted, but the candidates themselves too are under attack. This takes election violence to another level.
Previously, the activists and supporters of the opposition political camps would clash during the election campaign. The candidates would normally remain unscathed.
Several candidates came under attack on Saturday and Sunday. BNP leader and former minister Moyeen Khan was attacked in Narsingdi for the second time. In Kalihati, Tangail, independent candidate and former minister Abdul Quader Siddiqui came under attack. Bagerhat-2 candidate Abdus Salam’s convoy of vehicles was attacked while campaigning with BNP’s sheaf of paddy symbol. BNP alleges that gunfire was opened to prevent its Cox’s Bazar-1 candidate Hasina Ahmed from meeting the people and holding roadside meetings. The party also said that an attempt had been made on the life of its Natore-2 candidate Sabina Yasmin. There are also allegations of attacks being launched in Netrakona-4 on the BNP candidate Tahmina Zaman and the CPB candidate Jolly Talukdar. In Chandpur-3, the Jatiya Oikya Jote candidate Farid Ahmed was allegedly attacked.
An attack was launched on the meeting of Jatiya Oikya Front’s Narayanganj-5 candidate SM Akram. Stones were reportedly hurled at the vehicle of the Sylhet-4 BNP candidate Dildar Hossain. These incidents of violence took place of a san of two or three days. Prior to that, BNP alleged that around 150 of its candidates had been attacked in one way or the other.
The ruling party Awami League’s activists have been blamed for these attacks.
Awami League denies the allegations. We feel it is imperative that the election commission take necessary legal action to look into each and every one of these allegations. The commission has taken no such initiative till date. In some cases, they merely expressed their embarrassment and regret. The commission has been repeatedly assuring that measures would be taken to look into all incidents and that action would be taken accordingly, but this has not happened. Yet it is the constitutional responsibility of the election commission to maintain law and order during the election and to apply the law against all sorts of election-related crimes.

Many of the opposition candidates, who have not come under attack, feel too insecure to go on their campaigns. Some are unable to stay in their constituencies. This prevents all candidates from enjoying a level playing field, thus posing as an obstacle to a free and fair election. It is the election commission’s constitutional duty to ensure that all candidates can campaign freely, to ensure their safety. But negligence of this duty puts the commission’s neutrality into question. Each and every incident of violence needs to be investigated immediately and the attackers must be arrested. The law enforcement agencies must be directed accordingly and these directives must be carried out. We call upon all political parties, including the ruling party, to refrain from taking up violent means and use of force to defeat the opposition.