Nationalist Democratic Movement party's Chairman Bobby Hajjaj has claimed that polling centres using EVMs inthe Dhaka 6 constituency are being forcefully occupied by JaPa supporters.
While talking to the media at the Election Commission Secretariat around 10:45am on Sunday, he alleged: “Our polling agents have been beaten up and kicked out of the centres. The female polling agents have been sexually harassed and then forced out.”
He further claimed that four people have been admitted to hospitals nearby in critical condition.
"The news of such incidents have been coming in since 8:30am," he added.
He claimed to not have been allowed to enter his own polling centre at Nababpur High School, and a few other polling centres in the Dhaka 6 constituency.
The polling centres include: Gandaria High School, KabiNazrul College, Sher-e-Bangla High School, MunijaRahman School, St Joseph School, Sutrapur Community Centre, KL Jubilee School, Farajganj Community Centre, Silverdale High School, East Bengal School, Wari Government Primary School and Syed Khokon Community Centre.
Bobby went to meet with Election Commission Secretary Helal Uddinon Sunday morning regarding these incidents.Unable to get an audience, Bobby was asked to submit written complaints to the concerned returning officer.
In the complaint, Bobby alleged that supporters of the opposing candidate, JaPa’s KaziFiroz Rashid, physically assaulted NDM's polling agents and kicked them out from the polling centres.
The complaints further alleged that EVMs are being used in vote rigging. Polling booths are being occupied by JaPa supporters who are intimidating people into voting for their candidate.
The JaPa supporters are also taking voters’ ID numbers and voting themselves, the complaint mentioned.
Bobby said it is impossible to vote without fingerprints using the EVMs, but he is not sure how the opposition candidate's supporters and activists are being able to rig votes in this constituency.
