11-Party Alliance: EC responsibile for polls engineering
Staff Reporter:
Dr. Hamidur Rahman Azad, Assistant Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, has said that no matter how properly voting is conducted at a fundamental level, if the results are not announced fairly—if there is engineering and the Commission fails to check or take action against it—then a routine statement will not suffice.
He said that the Election Commission must also take responsibility for the election. “We have written to the EC seeking a recount in 32 constituencies.”
He made these remarks to the media on Sunday afternoon after a meeting at the Election Building in Agargaon in the capital. In the absence of the Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud presided over the meeting. Three other commissioners and the EC Secretary were also present.
The delegation of the 11-party alliance was led by Dr. Hamidur Rahman Azad. Others present included Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair; newly elected MP Barrister Najibur Rahman Momen; Labour Party President Dr. Mostafizur Rahman Iran; and representatives from the NCP and Khelafat Majlis.
Dr. Azad said, “We have observed that the 12 February election has several stages. First is voting, second is vote counting, and third is the publication of results. Among these three stages, we have seen some qualitative improvement in voting compared to the past.”
He said, “There were no visible incidents of killings or major violence. However, while visiting polling centers during voting, we observed an unhealthy environment. Although the voting started well, it did not end well. There was widespread fake voting. There was a flow of black money, and in some places there were threats, intimidation, terrorism, clashes, or attacks. Even if there were no major incidents, these elements raise questions about a free and fair election. Secondly, at the field level, those involved in the election process—candidates and their representatives—filed various complaints. But we did not see any effective action taken on those.”
The Jamaat leader said, “Today the Commission also said that more than 400 missing pistols have not yet been recovered. Some weapons have been recovered. And illegal weapons are already there. All of this played a role in influencing the election.”
Dr. Azad further alleged that, in addition to black money, weapons, and intimidation, there were activities aimed at manipulating the election. “For example, there are allegations that in some centers, officers on duty themselves stamped ballots. There are also allegations that party activists stamped ballots. Voters were obstructed on their way. Fear was spread. Voter turnout was reduced. A climate of fear was created.”
He said, “Overall, these irregularities were observed in the voting process. The second issue is vote counting. During counting, how many agents were forced out. The healthy environment required for proper counting was disrupted in some places. If there are flaws in vote counting, it is natural that the results will be affected. In the result sheets, we have seen erasures, overwriting, and alterations.”
Dr. Azad said that beyond the 32 constituencies, they have sufficient evidence, and more evidence is coming in. “If we find evidence even in constituencies where we lost by large margins, we will seek legal recourse.”
In response to a question, he said that some fundamental issues have been included in the reform of the Election Commission. “If the July Charter is implemented, we will benefit from it. Since it has not been implemented, we have not received those benefits. Secondly, according to its own statements, the Election Commission has tried and worked hard—we have heard that. We want to believe that as well.”