Awami League Presidium member Jahangir Kabir Nanak has blamed BNP mayoral candidate Ishraque Hossain and diplomats for the low voter turnout in the Dhaka city elections.
He said the speeches made by Ishraque and diplomats affected the voters' presence in the polls.
He said this while addressing a press conference at the Awami League president's office in Dhaka's Dhanmondi area on Saturday.
Nanak said the diplomats' movement ahead of the election also contributed to the low turnout of voters on the polling day.
Awami League Presidium member Jahangir Kabir Nanak addresses a press conference at the Awami League president's office at Dhanmondi in Dhaka on February 1, 2020 | Focus Bangla
Responding to a question, he said: "BNP's DSCC mayoral candidate Ishraque said today [Saturday] that he will not quit the polls, whether he dies or gets injured. He made such an aggressive statement.
"We think this type of statement affected the voters' minds and discouraged them. That is why they did not go to the polling centres."
Reading out from his written speech, Nanak also added: "Appointment of locals as international observers in the election is a clear violation of diplomatic norms."
Awami League leader and Information Minister Hasan Mahmud, Education Minister Dipu Moni, Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Organizing Secretary SM Kamal Hossain, and Office Secretary Biplab Barua, among others, were also present.
