The first three hours were peaceful, even festive at times as people came in to cast their vote at the polling centres in the Lalmonirhat 3 constituency since early morning.

The presence of female voters was notable, all queuing up in front of polling centres around sadar upazila waiting for their turn.

Polling agents of BNP and Jatiya Party candidates Asadul Habib Dulu and Golam Mohammed Quader respectively were there.

But the scenario started changing radically from 11:00am as Awami League (AL) activists began to arrive. They started calling out to voters, telling them to leave while forcing out BNP agents. No BNP worker or leader returned fearing attacks.

In some centres even police carried out such acts, snatching voter lists from BNP agents.

A correspondent of The Daily Star was present in a polling centre set up inside Lalmonirhat Government High School.

The presiding officer there, Rakibuzzaman, had locked himself inside a classroom after suspending voting around 12:30pm while some 300-400 AL men clamoured inside the school.

A judicial magistrate arrived half an hour later and coaxed him out. A visibly shaken Rakibuzzaman informed that the voting boxes, stamps and ballot papers had been taken away by the AL men. The judicial magistrate then left.

“Voting has been suspended in consultation with the UNO (upazila nirbahi officer) as the situation here was tense,” Rakibuzzaman replied on request for a comment.

On what happened to the voting materials, he abruptly turned around and again locked himself inside the classroom.

By 1:00pm the scenario had turned grim in most of the upazila's 89 polling centres: either voting was suspended or they were occupied by the AL men.

A correspondent of The Daily Star witnessed a local AL leader, Sumon Khan, and his men take over the Khochabari Primary School centre around 11:00am. They forced all others out within half an hour.

Villagers of Kulaghat came rushing to the correspondent during a visit to inform that AL men wielding sticks had chased them away from a voting centre in the local high school. They said normalcy returned when the army arrived.

Villagers of Shakoa staged agitations on a road after police created panic by chasing away voters, some even to their doorsteps, from the Shakoa Taj Mahmud High School centre.

BNP's Rajpur union publication secretary, Tojammel Haque, 62, died in Rangpur Medical College Hospital around 2:00pm on suffering injuries during a clash between AL and BNP men at Paglarhat Government Primary School in the initial hours.

Voting at the centre was suspended for some time.

Strongly denouncing the election-day violence in Bangladesh, Western powers have said there are “credible” reports that polls irregularities marred the voting on December 30.

Diplomatic sources said the strongly-worded statements from the USA, the UK, and the European Union was indicative that they might mount pressure on the Bangladesh authorities for transparent examinations into the alleged irregularities, violent incidents, intimidation and harassment that created obstacles for the opposition candidates to campaign freely.

The UN also echoed the concerns, saying that it was aware of violent incidents and reports of irregularities in the Bangladesh general elections.

“We encourage the parties to address electoral complaints in a peaceful manner and through legal means,” the spokesperson for the UN secretary-general said in a statement on Monday.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller and UN Resident Coordinator Mia Seppo separately met with Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque yesterday and discussed issues raised in the US and UN statements on the Bangladesh polls.

According to diplomatic sources, the US ambassador at the meeting mentioned about a resolution adopted unanimously by the US House of Representatives on December 12.

The resolution (H. Res. 1169) titled “Reaffirming the commitment of the United States to promote free, fair, transparent and credible elections in Bangladesh” had called on the Bangladesh government to respect the freedom of speech and of the press and to heed the Bangladesh Election Commission's request to ensure security for minorities and maintain communal harmony for a peaceful election.

It had also urged the Bangladesh political leaders and judicial authorities to respect the will of voters and ensure that all Bangladeshis would be able to participate freely in the elections, and that the polls would be impartial and inclusive.

Conveying the message of their respective authorities to the foreign secretary, the US and UN envoys said Bangladesh should ensure addressing the claims and allegations of irregularities, said diplomatic sources.

Issues of cooperation and future engagement between Bangladesh and the US and the UN also came up for discussion at the meetings.

Meanwhile, Canada in a statement yesterday said it was disappointed by credible claims of irregularities exhibited during the campaign.

“While welcoming the increased participation of opposition parties in this election, Canada remains disappointed by credible claims of irregularities exhibited during the campaign and calls on the relevant authorities to work transparently with all parties to address these claims,” said Global Affairs Canada.

It called upon all concerned to proceed in a peaceful and lawful manner and to ensure that the rights to freedom of expression and assembly are protected in the transition period leading up to the installation of a new government.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mark Field, British minister of state for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in a statement said, “I am aware of credible accounts of obstacles, including arrests, that constrained or prevented campaigning by opposition parties, and of irregularities in the conduct of elections on polling day that prevented some people from voting.

He called for a full, credible and transparent resolution of all complaints related to the conduct of the elections.

“I deplore the acts of intimidation and unlawful violence that have taken place during the campaign period, and am deeply concerned by the incidents that led to so many deaths on the polling day. My thoughts are with the families and friends of those who have lost loved ones,” he added.

Free, fair, peaceful, and participatory elections were essential to any functioning democracy, said the British minister of state.

“It is vital for the government and all political parties to now work together to address differences and find a way forward in line with the interests of the people of Bangladesh.”

He said the UK would continue to support the people of Bangladesh in their aspirations for a more stable, prosperous, and democratic future.

In another statement on Tuesday, EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Maja Kocijancic said, “Violence has marred the election day, and significant obstacles to a level playing field remained in place throughout the process and have tainted the electoral campaign and the vote.”

He said the relevant authorities should now ensure a proper examination of allegations of irregularities and commit to full transparency in their resolution.

The USA in a press statement said, “We note with concern credible reports of harassment, intimidation, and violence in the pre-election period that made it difficult for many opposition candidates and their supporters to meet, hold rallies, and campaign freely,”

“We are also concerned that election-day irregularities prevented some people from voting, which undermined faith in the electoral process,” Robert Palladino, deputy spokesperson at the US state department said on Tuesday.

Election Commission (EC) Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed today said the 11th parliamentary election held on Sunday will remain as a ‘bright example’ in national life.

“This is a huge event in the history of Bangladesh as the voting to the 11th parliamentary election took place in a very free, fair and peaceful environment under a political government,” he told reporters at the EC Secretariat here on the outcomes of the election.

He said many local and foreign observers have expressed their satisfaction over the voting.

Helal said the Awami League-led Grand Alliance gained a massive victory in this election to run the government for a straight three terms.

He also informed the media that so far the results to some 298 constituencies out of 300 have been announced since the election to three centres at Brahmanbaria-2 has been withheld. “There’ll be re-voting in these three centres.”

In Gaibandha-3 constituency polling was postponed as Dr ATM Fazle Rabbi of BNP-led 20-party alliance candidate died of old-age complications.

The EC Secretary extended gratitude to all the political parties, including Awami League, for taking part in this election amid festivity.

He said the Commission was taking preparations over the last one year to hold the election in a successful way and in this process they prepared voters list, completed delimitation of 300 constituencies, appointed the returning officers and assistant returning officers after announcement of the polls schedule, and held meetings with political parties.

Helal Uddin said about 15 lakh polling officials and members of law enforcement agencies were engaged to help hold the election in a free and fair manner with the participation of some 39 political parties and 1,846 candidates.

This election was a huge event in national life except some sporadic incidents as the EC has stopped polling at 22 centres for sporadic clashes and incidents out of the overall number of around 40,000 centres, he said quoting Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda as saying.

About the EVM use in voting, the EC Secretary said EVMs were used in six constituencies and there were curiosity, interest and anxiety over the use of these machines.

“But, we’ve been able to successfully use the EVMs…we’ll use EVMs in the upcoming elections. We will consider on how to get the results from these EVMs much earlier in the future,” he added.

Helal Uddin said the Commission is yet to calculate the overall percentage of votes casted in this election, adding their next big task will be to publish the gazette notification of the election results.

“Thus it will hand over it to the Speaker of Parliament for taking next steps and proceedings.”

The EC Secretary congratulated the Awami League for gaining the overwhelming victory side by side thanked the other political parties to cooperate with the EC for holding this election successfully.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the people voted her party to power after evaluating the fruit of development borne in her previous terms.

“The countrymen have gained benefit of the development work of my government, and thus they cast their votes for us,” She told foreign observers today.

She was speaking to observers from at least 30 different countries during a view-exchange meeting at her official residence Gono Bhaban this evening.

Hasina, also president of the ruling Awami League, said she fought for holding the election in a transparent manner so that people can exercise their voting rights.

She said BNP-Jamaat led alliance has plunged into a setback in the just concluded election as they have indulged in the acts of terrorism and corruption.

The premier also drew attention of the international observers so that they can play a role form their respective levels to accelerate the repatriation process of the Rohingyas from Bangladesh.