Editorial
By election
Code of conduct must not be breached
It is surprising to see that two candidates from the same political party have been given two separate symbols for the coming by election in June. Though MA Mannan and Mahi B Choudhury are candidates from the same political party, Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh, Mr Mannan has not been allocated the same symbol as Mahi Choudhury and they have decided to take legal step against such decision. Lately we have been witnessing that the campaigning for Dhaka-10 constituency has been dogged with controversy. Mr Mannan had earlier alleged that his supporters were not being allowed to campaign for him freely. In fact there have been reports in the newspapers that his supporters were being manhandled and cars used for the campaigning were damaged allegedly by the supporters of his opponent. Election Commission itself had assured him of taking steps to ensure security for his supporters after Mr Mannan lodged a complaint with the EC that his opponent, the ruling coalition candidate Mosaddek Ali Falu, was violating code of conduct. We appreciate EC's prompt move to ask its officials to take actions against those violating the codes, but those actions must be visible. One may recall that from its very inception Bikalpa Dhara was allowed little space to operate. EC had to wait for a complaint to be lodged before taking any action, whereas it was there for all to see how opulent the campaign of Mannan's opponent has been not only after the official announcement of the nomination, but even before that. The elections are scheduled for June 6 so the EC has to take corrective measures immediately. Because for a free, fair and impartial election, all candidates should be allowed a level playing field.
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