Political Violence Has No Place in Democratic Elections: US

The government of Bangladesh has been urged by the United States to thoroughly, openly, and impartially investigate any reports of violence and to hold those responsible for the acts accountable. 

"I would say that this type of political violence has no place in democratic elections," US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told in a regular briefing in Washington on July 17 when the assault on Hero Alam during yesterday’s Dhaka-17 by-election was raised. 

Miller also said they would expect the government of Bangladesh to hold free and fair elections. “And we continue to monitor it closely,” he said.

Mohammad Ali Arafat, who won the Dhaka-17 by-polls, said what happened “just 20 minutes before the end of the election is uncalled for.”

“I strongly condemn it. The involved parties could not be Awami League’s well-wishers. It was done with the intention of maligning the election,” he said.

Arafat said that the offenders deserved to be detained and prosecuted. 

On July 17, while leaving a polling place in the Banani neighborhood, Ashraful Alam, also known as "Hero Alam," an independent candidate running in the Dhaka-17 by-election, was violently assaulted.

While leaving the Banani Bidyaniketan School polling place in the afternoon, Hero Alam was attacked by some miscreants. After receiving medical attention at a hospital, he went back home.