Dhaka: BNP has expressed grave concern over the use of religion to influence the coming parliamentary election and demanded prompt and effective measures of the Election Commission (EC) against such activities. Without naming any political party, Mahadi Amin, BNP’s election spokesperson, stated that religion is being used as a political tool by a particular political party to influence voters. He was addressing a press conference at the party’s Gulshan office this afternoon.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Mahadi Amin alleged that candidates, leaders, and activists of a political party are conducting systematic election campaigns exploiting the religious emotions of voters. Many social media posts and video clips are promoting the idea that voting for a specific symbol is a religious duty. He further stated that these attempts to seek votes by misinterpreting religion and instilling fear in people are not only unethical but also illegal.
Mahadi Amin emphasized that this tendency of influencing voters based on religious beliefs and emotions undermines the transparency, neutrality, and fairness of the election environment. He referred to the Representation of the People Order (RPO) 1972, highlighting that influencing people to vote using religion is a punishable offense. He also criticized the Election Commission’s silence and inaction, which he believes is exacerbating the situation.
Mahadi, who is also an adviser to the BNP chairperson, revealed that workers of the political party in question are collecting personal information from voters, including copies of national identity cards, mobile numbers, and bKash numbers from female voters. He warned that this collected information could be used to cast fake votes, vote in the name of deceased persons, and attempt to influence voters through financial transactions. He pointed out that such activities are punishable offenses under the Voter List Act, 2009, the Penal Code 1860, and the Digital Security Act, 2018, urging the EC to take swift and decisive action to prevent these illegal activities and misuse of NID information.
Commenting on the deployment of 13 to 15 Ansar and VDP members in every polling center, Mahadi Amin expressed concerns about their political affiliations, as a large portion of these forces are local residents. He asserted that if local residents and politically influenced individuals are assigned duties at polling centers, impartiality could be compromised. Therefore, BNP has demanded that Ansar and VDP members be assigned duties outside their localities.
Mahadi Amin reiterated that it is the constitutional duty of the EC to hold a fair and neutral election. He warned that without visible and stringent measures, the acceptability of the election would be severely questioned. He expressed hope that the EC will play a neutral role and take effective measures to protect people’s voting rights.