The Election Commission (EC) failed to hold the 10th parliamentary polls in fair and transparent manners, Brotee, a non-government organisation and a local election observer, said today.

“The Election Commission can hold a fair and transparent election within its existing executive power, but it has failed to do so,” said Sharmeen Murshid, chief executive officer of Brotee, at a press briefing in the capital.

As the EC and the administration have failed to provide security to the voters, the turnout was lower than the previous elections, she added.

“Observing 16 constituencies on a sample basis, we found the voter turnout as 37 percent. But this is not the average turnout of the whole country”, Murshid revealed.

Presenting a brief report on their observations during the pre and post-elections period, she said Brotee recorded numerous incidents of violence centring the elections.

According to the report, at least 21 persons were killed on the elections day while others were killed in post-election violence, the Brotee CEO said.

Since the election schedule was declared on November 25, at least 180 people were also killed in violence, she added.