Jamaat Ameer alleges coordinated effort to mislead voters

Staff Reporter :

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Dhaka-15 candidate Dr. Shafiqur Rahman has alleged that a group is attempting to mislead voters through a coordinated propaganda campaign ahead of the parliamentary election, while also claiming that several of his party’s campaign booths have been vandalised.

In a post on his verified Facebook page on Wednesday, Dr. Shafiqur said that as the country prepares for a “free, neutral and acceptable election,” certain quarters are spreading misinformation to mislead voters.

“When the nation is ready for a fair, impartial and credible election, some are spreading various kinds of false information,” he wrote. “Fearing Jamaat’s popularity and public support, a group is engaged in ill efforts to mislead voters. I urge everyone not to pay heed to such propaganda.”

Describing voting as both a right and a sacred responsibility, he called on citizens to cast their ballots for their preferred candidate and electoral symbol.

“The whole nation expects that. May Almighty Allah help us,” he added.
Separately, Dr. Shafiqur alleged that 13 election booths of his party’s electoral symbol, the scales, were vandalised in his Dhaka-15 constituency on Wednesday.

“Today, 13 election booths of the scales in my constituency Dhaka-15 were vandalised. I strongly condemn and protest this,” he wrote in another Facebook post.

Blaming political rivals for the violence, he said, “Those who still want to stop us through terrorism and intimidation are forgetting that this nation has moved past July.” He further claimed that “muscle politics has come to an end” and that the people can no longer be suppressed.

“Those who have failed to sit for discussions on national policy and the country’s future planning are now resorting to violence,” he added, expressing confidence that public support for his party’s symbol would be reflected in the ballot.

Meanwhile, at a press briefing, Jamaat-e-Islami central Assistant Secretary General Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair alleged that a recent incident in Thakurgaon was being deliberately distorted to tarnish the party’s image.

Referring to reports that the Thakurgaon district Jamaat ameer was detained at Saidpur Airport with cash, Zubair described the matter as a misrepresentation. He said the district leader is a garment businessman who was carrying the money for business purposes and had obtained a no-objection certificate (NOC) from Dhaka’s international airport.

“But the police staged a drama there. The administration created this situation in a planned manner,” Zubair alleged.

When asked who might be behind the alleged plan, he said, “Those who fear defeat in the election have orchestrated this.”

There was no immediate response from law enforcement authorities or the rival political parties over the allegations at the time of filing this report.