The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday withdrew Jhenaigati Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Ashraful Alam and Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Jhenaigati Police Station Najmul Hasan following the killing of a Jamaat-e-Islami leader in a clash in Sherpur, citing a failure in administrative responsibility.
EC Secretariat Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed disclosed the decision while briefing journalists at the Election Commission building in Dhaka. Describing the incident as "highly condemnable," he said the electoral code of conduct requires manifesto readings and election campaigning to be conducted in a cordial environment, which was "unfortunately violated" in Sherpur.
He said reports have been sought from the returning officer and the adjudication committee and that further action will be taken after reviewing those reports. However, considering immediate lapses in administrative duties, the commission decided to withdraw the two officials.
Later, a notification issued by the Ministry of Public Administration said UNO Ashraful Alam has been withdrawn from Jhenaigati and made an officer on special duty (OSD). He has been asked to hand over his responsibilities within Thursday, failing which he will be considered immediately released from duty.
The clash occurred on Wednesday afternoon in Sherpur-3 (Sreebardi-Jhenaigati) constituency between activists of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami during an election manifesto reading programme organised by the Jhenaigati Upazila administration. The violence reportedly erupted over a dispute regarding seating arrangements. Sreebardi upazila Jamaat secretary Maulana Rezaul Karim was killed in the clash. He was also a lecturer at Fatehpur Fazil Madrasa.
On postal voting, Akhtar Ahmed said the EC has decided that candidates whose nominations are upheld or reinstated by court orders by February 8, 2026, will be included in the postal ballot, while those reinstated after that date will not be included due to insufficient time for printing, dispatching, and returning ballots.
