BNP’s Tulee alleges ‘poll fraud’, urges results suspension and re-vote

Her complaint follows a separate call for a recount in Dhaka-8

BNP candidate Sanjida Islam Tulee has alleged widespread rigging in Dhaka-14 and called for the suspension of results.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday afternoon at a building on Mirpur Zoo Road, she levelled accusations of ballot snatching, fake voting, voter intimidation and the forced removal of polling agents.

In a written statement, Tulee said her agents were driven out of several centres and transparency in the counting process was “compromised”.

“If these irregularities are not independently examined, citizens’ voting rights will be severely undermined,” she warned.

Tulee demanded an immediate suspension of results at the disputed centres, the formation of an “impartial” inquiry committee and a re-poll.

“The attempt to distort the people’s verdict is a warning sign for democracy,” she said.

She added that legal action was being prepared and that evidence would be compiled for a formal complaint to the Election Commission.

Her protest comes after the NCP, part of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance, raised concerns over vote counting in Dhaka-8 on Thursday night, with party leader Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain calling for a recount in that constituency.

In Dhaka-14, Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem Arman won with 101,113 votes.

Arman, who was a victim of enforced disappearance and spent years in a secret facility, faced off against Tulee, the sister of another high-profile victim of enforced disappearance, BNP leader Sajedul Islam Sumon.

Tulee, contesting with the BNP's “sheaf of paddy” symbol, received 83,323 votes. Meanwhile, BNP rebel Syed Abu Bakar Siddique Saju, running with the football symbol, polled 16,328 votes.