BNP’s mayoral candidate Sarwar pulls out of Barishal race

Mayoral candidate Mazibor Rahman Sarwar from the BNP has pulled out of the race in Barishal, citing rigging and other irregularities.

Sarwar rushed a press conference in the city, four hours after voting began at 123 polling centres across the city on Monday.

The BNP candidate alleged that the party’s polling agents were barred from 70-80 centres. Those agents who managed to enter the centres said that the Awami League was “stuffing boxes with ballots’, he said.

“The Awami League government has destroyed the election arrangement. This cannot continue. I am calling on the Election Commission to halt this election, but they did not heed our words.”

“So we condemn this election. We will withdraw and boycott it.”

After casting his vote at the Syeda Majidunnesa Secondary School in Ward-1, Sarwar had told the media that polling agents were being barred from the centres.

“The situation is the same out in nearly 50 other centres,” he had said. “No agent was allowed to enter the No. 30 centre. Police are forcing them out. The situation is terrible.”

“It seems to be a disaster. The agents are lamenting the situation. Who will provide the people with security? Who will ensure their safety? The police did not allow them to get into the centres.”

The BNP candidate shared the instant reactions with the media before he held a formal news briefing to announce his boycott of the election.

RIGGING, CHAOS

The presiding officer of a Barishal polling centre has evaded questions about a group of activists and supporters with Awami League badges who forced their way in and stuffed vote boxes with ballots.

The incident occurred close to the start of the polls at Kaunia Syeda Majidunnesa Secondary School in Ward-1on Monday.

At 8:35am, BNP candidate Sarwar left his home in his car for the polling centre near his house.

Awami League activists became angry when there was some delay in finding Sarwar’s voter number at the polling centre. They began to cause a commotion outside. Sarwar eventually cast his ballot after looking around the booths.

Awami League and BNP supporters outside the centre shouted slogans. Many voters left the line because of the commotion and were replaced by people with the Awami League badges.

Witnesses said a group wearing Awami League badges entered the polling centre after Sarwar left, snatched ballots and began to mark them.

A bdnews24.com journalist taking photographs of the scenes was removed by police on duty. They also removed the Awami League supporters from the booths.

Syeda Majidunnesa Secondary School polling centre Presiding Officer Sanjay Ratna told bdnews24.com: “The situation was a bit chaotic and voting was disrupted for a few minutes. But voting is underway again.”

Asked about allegations that Awami League activists had entered the polling centre and stuffed vote boxes with ballots, he said: “This has not come to my attention yet. We are trying to restore the voting environment. We are seeing what we can do.”

The polling centre has 2,407 registered voters.

Asked about the BNP candidate’s complaints that their agents were removed from polling centres, Barishal Returning Officer Md Mujibur Rahman said: “We will take immediate action if we receive any allegation that agents of any candidate are being removed from polling centres.”

Threatening the agents of any candidate is an insult to the Election Commission, he said.