Dhaka: BNP central election steering committee spokesperson and adviser to the BNP chairman Mahdi Amin today urged the Election Commission (EC) to identify female polling agents with law and regulations. He emphasized the importance of appointing an adequate number of female polling officers at women's booths in every polling center to ensure effective voter identification, which should be completed by unveiling the face as per legal requirements.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Mahdi Amin made these remarks during a press conference at the BNP's Election Steering Committee office in Gulshan. He expressed concerns over incidents in which a political party allegedly collected National ID and bKash numbers from households, raising fears of potential fake votes. Amin also mentioned receiving information about preparations to print extra ballots and cited a raid by law enforcement in Sutrapur, Old Dhaka, where 152 cricket stumps were recovered from a political leader's residence, hinting at possible election-related violence.
Without naming any party, Amin claimed that there are systematic preparations for election engineering, including the procurement of burqas and niqabs for fake voting. He further alleged irregularities in the appointment of election observers, highlighting a name-only organization, People's Association for Social Advancement (PASA), which has been approved to appoint the highest number of observers for the election. The organization, with a minimal presence in Habiganj, reportedly has 10,559 out of 55,454 local observers, raising questions about its legitimacy.
Amin reiterated BNP's concerns that several institutions posing as observers are linked to a particular political party, potentially obstructing a fair election process. He urged the Election Commission and the interim government to implement necessary measures to ensure a level playing field for a free, fair, and impartial election.