Dhaka, April 9 -- The Election Commission (EC) has directed the returning officers of Bogura-6 and Sherpur-3 constituencies to submit reports after examining allegations raised by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami over irregularities in the by-elections to the two parliamentary seats.

"We have started investigating. I have already asked for the report from our respective officers," said EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed on Thursday afternoon, while replying to a question from reporters at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city's Agargaon area.

When asked about Jamaat's decision to boycott the Sherpur-3 election, he said, "They have boycotted the election-why they did so is a question for them. We arranged the election; we did not ask anyone to boycott it...