In the Dhaka-13 constituency, a woman voter at polling station 80 at Lalmatia Women’s College alleged that someone else had already voted on her behalf when she arrived to cast her ballot.
Shaheda Begum reached the polling station around 12:30pm yesterday, wearing a burqa and hijab and accompanied by her daughter. However, when she entered the voting booth, polling officials informed her that her vote had already been cast.
“I just arrived. How could my vote have been cast already?” Shaheda said.
Officials checked her father’s name and National ID details and confirmed that the information she provided was accurate. They then examined her hands for ink to verify whether she had voted earlier. Shaheda was also asked to briefly lift her hijab for identification, after which her identity was confirmed to match the records.
Following the verification, polling officials appeared unsettled and discussed among themselves how proper checks had not been conducted earlier. The assistant presiding officer later assured Shaheda that she would be allowed to vote.
Shaheda subsequently cast her vote. However, instead of being placed in the ballot box, the ballot was kept separately in an envelope.
Speaking after voting, Shaheda said: “I have cast my vote, but it was kept separately and not placed in the ballot box. Even after all these years, my vote was almost cast by someone else. This is a failure of the polling staff and the administration. I do not know whether my vote will ultimately be counted.”
Her daughter echoed the concern, questioning how the error had occurred despite standard verification procedures. “Before voting, the voter’s name, father’s name and mother’s name are checked. So how did this happen? They said my mother’s vote would be counted separately, but we do not know if it actually will be,” she said.
Responding to the incident, the assistant presiding officer told Dhaka Tribune that the matter occurred inadvertently. “Apart from this single incident, voting had proceeded smoothly since the morning. Some women do not wish to remove their face coverings, which can sometimes create complications. We will be more vigilant going forward,” he said.
The presiding officer confirmed that Shaheda’s vote was sealed in a separate envelope and would be sent to the Election Commission as per instructions. “We are not permitted to place it in the ballot box. The Election Commission will decide on its final handling,” he added.