Dhaka: The tense political atmosphere in the run up to the national election has made the people worried about the polls, Susasoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan) said on Monday.

‘We have observed incidents of violence [during election campaigns]. Cases were filed against many opposition leaders and activists. Many of them have been arrested and sent to prison,’ Shujan General Secretary Badiul Alam Mazumder told a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club, reports the UNB.

‘The general people are worried about the election,’ he said. ‘We demand a free and fair election.’

Badiul accused the EC of not ‘properly scrutinising’ affidavits of the candidates. Many nominations would have been cancelled if they were scrutinised thoroughly, he claimed. 

‘After the election, we hope the EC will take action against those who provided false information in their affidavits,’ he added.

Shujan central coordinator Dilip Kumar Sarkar said there were 10,41,90,573 voters in the country and more than 2.31 crore of them were young and first-time voters.

Altogether 1,871 candidates are contesting the national election. Of them, 66 women are vying for 67 constituencies.

‘Among the candidates, 61.67 percent belonging to the Oikyafront and 20-party alliances, have cases against them. The percentage is 6.69 among Awami League candidates,’ Dilip added.