Two out of the four candidates decided to boycott the by-polls for the Lakshmipur-3 constituency, alleging that fraudulent votes were being cast.
Mohammad Rakib Hossain from the Jatiya Party and Shamsul Karim Khokon from the Zaker Party made their announcement at the Lakshmipur Press Club at 1:30pm on Sunday.
Jatiya Party'sl candidate Mohammad Rakib Hossain said: "My agent has been removed from 90% of the centres by the ruling party people. Besides, they are casting fake votes. The centres had been empty since morning, but inside, it was found it was discovered that votes had indeed been cast. So who is voting? We are being cheated.”
Shamsul Karim Khokon said the administration had assured them of a fare polls since the beginning But now they are silent.
“People from the ruling party are casting fake votes. So, as there was no voting environment, I withdrew from the election and boycotted the election,” he said.
Farhad Hossain, returning officer and Comilla regional election officer said: "One of our candidates has made a verbal complaint. That's what we're looking at. We have observed many centres. There is a fair atmosphere for the elections.”
Voting for the by-polls to Brahmanbaria-2 and Lakshmipur-3 constituencies are underway, amid a countrywide blockade called by BNP-Jamaat on Sunday.
The polls began at 8am and will continue till 4pm without any breaks.
Earlier, on October 1, the parliament secretariat declared the two seats vacant, following the deaths of Lakshmipur-3 lawmaker AKM Shajahan Kamal and Brahmanbaria-2 lawmaker Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan.