Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Monday alleged that a festival of capturing polling stations like grabbing char land is going on in the Union Parishad (UP) elections.

“The way violence is happening in the UP elections it can’t be accepted in a civilized society…an appalling situation is prevailing in rural areas due to the incidents of killing, attacks and counter-attacks,” he said.

GM Quader, also the deputy opposition leader in parliament, came up with the allegation at a views-exchange meeting with the leaders of BPUM, a human rights organisation, at Jatiya Party Chairman's Banani office.

He said the people of the country do not want to see such killings and violence in the elections. “There’re also allegations that election results are being changed somewhere.”

The Jatiya Party chief said the Election Commission has completely failed to hold the UP elections in a free and fair manner.

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“Common people are now scared to see the showdown with arms in front of the members of law enforcement agencies,” GM Quader observed.

He called upon the Election Commission to take effective steps to ensure that the upcoming elections are held in a free and credible manner with a festive mood.

Jatiya Party Presidium Member Fakhrul Imam, Mir Abdus Sabur Asud, Advocate Rezaul Islam Bhuiyan and Office Secretary MA Razzak Khan were, among others, present.

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At least eight people were killed and over 100 others injured as the 3rd phase of UP elections were held on Sunday amid sporadic violence and irregularities.