Electoral Violence in Bangladesh: A Study of Rural Local Government Elections from 2009 to 2016

Abstract

Election is the cornerstone of democracy. Periodic national elections have been held in Bangladesh since the country gained independence in 1971. But periodic elections have not been held in all tiers of local government until in 2009. Local level elections are held for consolidating local democracy. Four local government elections have been held in Bangladesh from 2009 to 2016. Studies reveal that the role of the government and the opposition is not conducive to democratising the political system at local level through free and fair elections. Among these four elections Union Parishad election in 2016 was the most violent. The election saw many deaths and injuries and many irregularities. Confrontational bipolar party politics, internal disagreement in ruling party, many phases’ election, introduction of party line election and weak role of Election Commission (EC) were responsible for that violence.