Shawdesh Desk:

The Election Commission has suspended the by-elections to Gaibandha-5 constituency due to massive irregularities.

Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal made the announcement while talking to reporters at Nirbachan Bhaban in Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Wednesday afternoon.

He said that the EC would inform the details later.

The EC’s decision came over an hour after the CEC’s remark that the by-elections to Gaibandha-5 constituency had somewhat gone out of control.

At around noon, the CEC, talking to reporters while monitoring the polls through CCTV camera feeds at Nirbachan Bhaban, also said that voting at 44 out of 145 centres were suspended until 12:00 noon due to irregularities.

He said that he had seen the irrigularities with his own eyes.

A total of five candidates – including candidates nominated by the ruling Awami League and the Jatiya Party had been vying in the by-elections.

The by-elections began at 8:00am and, at about 11:30am, all but the AL candidate K Mahamud Hasan Ripon in a press conference at Bogervita Primary School ground under Saghata upazila announced that they had boycotted the by-election due to huge irregularities.

The four candidates who boycotted the by-polls are HM Golam Rashid Ranju of Jatiya Party, Jahangir Alam of Bikalpadhara and independent candidates Nahiduzzaman Nishad and Mahbubur Rahman.