Another 703 unions of 47 districts go to polls in the fourth phase today amid tension and fear of violence as many ruling Awami League candidates are at loggerheads with party rebels over the elections.

The previous phases of the elections were marred by deadly clashes and irregularities. Over 65 people were killed, including 19 on three polling days, and several thousand injured in violence over union parishad polls across the country, according to media reports.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission yesterday issued a letter to Sherpur-1 lawmaker Atiur Rahman Atik, also a whip, asking him to leave the constituency as it found that the MP was influencing the polls there.

Local government and election experts feared there would be violence and irregularities in today's elections as no significant administrative and security measures have been taken either by the commission or the political parties to check those.

“Nowadays violence and irregularities have become a culture in our electoral process. So we might see a continuation of the culture tomorrow [today],” eminent local government expert Tofail Ahmed told this newspaper.

As the UP polls are being held on partisan lines, the political parties should rein in their grassroots to curb violence, he added.

Former election commissioner M Sakhawat Hussain said the country's electoral process has been jeopardised due to lax enforcement of law and poor monitoring of the polls by the EC.

Although the incidents of violence in the third phase of the UP polls on April 23 were fewer than the first two phases, massive irregularities took place on that day, reported newspapers.

However, EC Secretary Sirazul Islam yesterday said the commission took all necessary measures to hold today's polls in a free and fair manner. He warned that actions would be taken against lawbreakers whoever they might be.

Elections to 725 UPs were held on March 22 in the first phase, 639 UPs on March 31 in the second phase, and 615 UPs in the third phase.

Besides, a total of 733 unions will go to polls on May 28 in the fifth phase and 724 unions on June 4 in the sixth and final phase.

Bangladesh Hindu-Bouddha-Christian Oikya Parishad has repeatedly complained that attacks on religious minorities across the country have increased significantly since the beginning of the UP polls. It called upon the political parties not to nominate chairman hopefuls who were involved in torturing the religious minorities.

33 ELECTED UNCONTESTED

Thirty-three AL chairman candidates have been elected uncontested in the fourth phase of the UP polls alone, raising the total number of uncontested AL winners to 143 in all four phases.

The first ever partisan UP polls has created much tension among the voters and political parties with the AL and the BNP stepping into the battle of ballots.

The two major parties have picked their grassroots leaders to contest the polls for chairman of UPs, with the parties' electoral symbols “boat” and “sheaf of paddy”.

Fifteen out of 40 registered political parties are contesting today's polls. The BNP, however, could not field any candidate in around 100 unions, according to EC statistics.

Elections have already been held in around 1,962 unions. The AL chairman candidates have won in 1,379 unions while the nominees of the BNP have won in 168. Candidates of other political parties and independent aspirants have won in rest of the unions, according to EC and media reports.

Meanwhile, BNP candidate Md Fakhrul Islam in Bashgari union under Raipura upazila of Narsingdi yesterday said he boycotted today's polls as he could not conduct electioneering due to a “conspiracy by the local AL men”, reports our Narsingdi correspondent.

PRESIDING OFFICER WITHDRAWN

In Kushtia, law enforcers last night recovered around 1,300 sealed ballot papers for a chairman candidate and a member aspirant from West Abdalpur Govt Primary School centre under Abdalpur union in Sadar upazila. The union is scheduled to go to the polls today.

Following the incident, presiding officer of the polling station has been withdrawn, reports our correspondent there.

POLLS POSTPONED

The EC on Thursday postponed polls to 16 UPs of Baghmara upazila in Rajshahi after receiving complaints that AL lawmaker Enamul Haque from Rajshahi-4 had been influencing the elections there.