BNP has expressed its unhappiness with the Election Commission’s (EC) role in the Gazipur City Corporation polls.
A delegation of the party, led by Joint Secretary General Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal, met with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda at the commission’s office in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Afterwards, Alal told reporters that they informed the commission about plainclothes policemen driving out BNP’s polling agents from 21 centres during the voting.
"Although the CEC has assured us of taking necessary measures over the matter, we are doubtful," he said.
He claimed that the law enforcement officials had engaged in such activities under the authority of Gazipur Superintendent of Police (SP) Harun-ur-Rashid.
"We had urged the Election Commission to withdraw the SP before the polls. But they did not listen to us, just like they did not listen to our calls during the Khulna City Corporation polls."
Alal also alleged that electoral camps of BNP were destroyed, but the party did not receive any support from the commission’s observer teams.
"We have told the CEC that without the help of the returning officers and presiding officers, BNP will not have the power to fight off Awami League's goons,” he said.
BNP candidate: Ballot stuffing at 400 centres
Meanwhile, BNP’s mayoral candidate in Gazipur city polls Hasan Uddin Sarker has alleged that vote stuffing took place in 400 out of 425 polling centres.
Addressing a press briefing at his home in the city, he termed the election a “vote of anarchy.”
Hasan said: “I will, however, wait till it ends. Indiscipline and manipulation have taken place in many voting centres.”
The BNP leader also said he did not find any of his agents in the centres at Gacha, Konabari and Kashimpur.
“By 11:30am, I had received more than 100 complains of irregularities. According to my sources, ballot stuffing had taken place at 400 centres by the time voting ended,” he said.
Hasan, however, said that they would decide their next course of action after the results were out.
Earlier in the day, he had demanded the cancellation of the polls, alleging vote rigging and massive irregularities.
He, however, made it clear that even if the Election Commission does not cancel the polls, he would "continue till the end."
Hasan said: "I will show the people the irregularities that are going on, and unmask the government's non-democratic attitude towards the polls."
Amid heavy security, the voting in the Gazipur city polls had started at 8am and ended at 4pm on Tuesday without any major incident.
The counting of votes then started immediately at all polling centres across the city.
