The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Thursday demanded constituency-specific postal ballots featuring candidate names and symbols, accusing the Election Commission of running a flawed and biased system that was disadvantaging the party.
The BNP proposed that the postal ballots should carry only the names and symbols of the candidates contesting a specific seat to avoid confusion among voters.
A BNP delegation, led by standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, met chief election commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin at the EC headquarters in Dhaka to place a number of complaints and proposals before the commission.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Salahuddin said that the BNP was particularly alarmed by the first-ever introduction of expatriate postal voting, which he claimed was already showing serious signs of manipulation.
He referred to social media footage showing hundreds of ballot papers allegedly found in single residences abroad, with some of those ballots reportedly being seized.
Salahuddin also cited allegations that postal voting had begun in certain places even though the official date was set for the January 22 while ballots were being collected by people other than the registered voters in some cases.
The postal ballots sent to expatriates, he said, have not been properly considered, as the BNP has pointed out earlier, adding that those involved in preparing and distributing the ballots, as well as the EC, must provide clear explanations.
He said that videos circulating on social media showed 200 to 300 ballots being found in single residences, some being seized in different places and in some cases postal voting had already started despite being scheduled for January 22.
Salahuddin said that there were reports of ballots being received in one person’s name by someone else, indicating widespread irregularities.
He said that while some errors could be expected as expatriate voting was being introduced for the first time in Bangladesh the current problems were turning the BNP into victims and causing the party harm.
The BNP leader alleged that certain actions had been taken in favour of a particular political party, commenting that this was no longer merely a suspicion but was now being borne out by evidence.
Alongside its concerns about expatriate voting, the BNP pressed for a major change in the way domestic postal ballots are designed and used.
Salahuddin said that postal ballots within Bangladesh should be constituency-specific, rather than using a single generic format.
‘For each constituency there is already a standard ballot paper with the names and symbols of all the candidates contesting that seat. That same ballot should be used as the postal ballot for that constituency,’ he said.
The BNP delegation also raised wider issues, including enforcement of the electoral code of conduct and the conduct of some election officials.
Salahuddin alleged that while BNP chair Tarique Rahman had postponed activities in deference to the commission’s requests, other political leaders continued to issue statements and videos in the breach of electoral rules without facing any action.
He also claimed that several returning officers were showing a partisan behaviour.
According to the BNP, the Election Commission had said that it would consider the party’s proposals and complaints, including those related to postal ballots and the code of conduct.
However, Salahuddin stressed that the party was seeking immediate and clear answers, particularly on the expatriate postal voting process, which was already damaging confidence in the election.
Meanwhile, election commissioner retired Brigadier General Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah later on the day said that the Election Commission had found no evidence of any irregularities in the postal ballots sent to expatriate Bangladeshis abroad after reviewing several video clips circulating on social media regarding the distribution of postal ballots.
The election commissioner made the remarks while briefing reporters at the Nirbachan Bhaban in the city.
