Dhaka: Ruling Awami League for the first time is set to not field chairman candidates in a large number of Union Councils in the upcoming third phase of the UC polls in Rangamati.  

Amid alleged intimidation, ruling Awami League could not field chairman candidates in 18 UCs, while its rival BNP failed to give chairman contenders in 29 UCs out of 49 in Rangamati.

The 49 UCs under 10 Upazilas are going to polls on April 23 in the third phase of the six-phase countrywide UC election.

Contacted, State Minister for Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Bir Bahadur Ushwe Sing told UNB the ruling party could not field candidates in many UCs as ‘none dared to contest the election due to intimidation.’  

Asked who are resorting to intimidation, the junior minister said ‘various armed groups’ are threatening AL aspirants.  

He, however, said they did not seek cooperation from the local administration in fielding nomination papers on behalf of the party’s chairman aspirants.

‘As no one is interested to run the polls, we did not seek cooperation from the local administration,’ Ushwe Sing said.  

Election Commission Secretary Sirazul Islam on Monday said the Election Commission is going to take a decision over intimidation in the Union Council elections in Rangamati.

‘We’re going to take a decision over the Rangamati issue. The Commission is most likely to take the decision today (Monday),’ he told UNB.

The EC Secretary, however, declined to provide details until the decision is taken, and no such decision had been intimated to the press till filing of this report at 6pm.  

Three UCs in Rangamati including Jibtoli and Mogban in Sadar Upazila are set to go uncontested single candidates there, said District Election Officer Md Nazim Uddin.  

Replying to a question, he said none came to the election office to lodge complaint as to why they could not field candidatures.

The election officer said a total of 181 chairman aspirants submitted their nomination papers in the 49 UPs within the deadline that expired on Sunday.

The candidates include 31 from AL, 20 from BNP, five from Jatiya Party, three from Islami Shashontantra Andolan and the remaining 122 are independent contenders.

The chairman post in 56 UCs in phase 1 and 31 UCs in phase 2 went uncontested to AL candidates finding no opponent to run against them.  

In the first two phases, the ruling party had no candidate on the ballot in only one UC.  

The Election Commission on March 15 declared the schedule to arrange elections in 687 UCs across the country in the third phase.