Right to Participate in Elections Without Violence Should Be Guaranteed: UN

The attack on independent MP candidate Ashraful Alam (Hero Alam) during yesterday's Dhaka-17 by-elections has drawn concern from the UN in Bangladesh.

Gwyn Lewis, the UN Resident Coordinator in Dhaka, tweeted today, "The fundamental human right of everyone to participate in elections without violence should be guaranteed and protected."

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

The winner of the Dhaka-17 by-elections, Mohammad Ali Arafat, claimed what occurred "just 20 minutes before the end of the election is uncalled for."

"I vehemently reject it. The parties concerned could not be well-wishers of the Awami League. In order to discredit the election, it was done, he claimed.

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.