Election Commissioner (EC) Mahbub Talukder has said a free and fair upazila parishad election will be a far cry if it is not freed from the clutch of local lawmakers.

“It is absolutely a matter of political decision,” Commissioner Talukder said after the end of the fourth phase of upazila parishad to 107 upazilas held today.

“People think, the EC has taken a strong position in the upazila parishad election,” he said.

“Voting in many centres were stopped for irregularities and stern actions were taken by law enforcement agencies during the Upazila election,” he said.

“But why similar measures were not taken during national election. If we search for an answer, we will understand the real picture of the national election,” he said.

Reflecting on the low voter turnout, he said: “Disinterest to voting is an aversion to democracy. We do not want to join mourning procession of democracy.”   

“In all three previous phases, voters appeared to be uninterested in casting ballots with the overall turnout hitting the lowest since 2009,” he said.

He also added that it is because of a wavering confidence on the Election Commission that the elections are not turning out to be participatory.