EC Alamgir, returning officer dismiss fraud claims in Cumilla mayor polls

Election Commissioner Md Alamgir has brushed aside the allegation of fraud in Cumilla mayoral polls, saying the returning officer stood no chance to change the results.

Former mayor Monirul Haque Sakku, an expelled BNP leader who fought as an independent candidate, brought the allegation after Returning Officer Shahedunnabi Chowdhury declared ruling Awami League’s Arfanul Haque Rifat winner on Wednesday night.

Shahedunnabi also refuted the allegation raised by Sakku. The returning officer said Sakku could have objected to the results immediately after the announcement as the candidate was present there.

Sakku, who had defeated the Awami League candidates in the last two elections by a huge margin, lost this time by only 343 votes after he and Rifat were neck and neck throughout the race.

Tension mounted just before Rifat was declared the winner. Sakku arrived in the control room around 9pm, with hundreds of supporters of the ruling party candidate shouting: “boat, boat”, the electoral symbol of the Awami League.

Police later intervened in a bid to clear the supporters from the building. The returning officer stopped the announcement of results for some time as police charged batons to disperse the party adherents.

He was leading Rifat by 629 votes in 101 out of 105 polling stations at that time.

As Rifat was declared winner immediately after the announcement resumed, Sakku said in his immediate reaction: “The returning officer declared the ‘boat’ candidate the winner through election engineering. They inflicted the loss on me.”

He claimed that he had tallied results from all the centres and found out he had won by 980 votes. “That's why I came to the Shilpakala Academy.”

The former mayor questioned the returning officer’s action, alleging Shahedunnabi talked to someone on the phone after stopping the announcement.

On Thursday, Alamgir faced questions from journalists in Dhaka while Shahedunnabi spoke to the media in Cumilla.

“The returning officer did not have the chance to manipulate the results. He just announced what he got from the presiding officers. The results were available with the candidates, their agents and others as well,” said Alamgir, who had also worked as an EC secretary.

Shahedunnabi said the chaos in the control room forced him to briefly postpone the announcement. “Both sides created an untoward situation.”

He said results from four centres were delayed due to rains and power cuts.

He also said he had spoken to Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, and the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police of Cumilla about the situation after halting the announcement.

“The defeated candidate can seek legal recourse, but it’s not possible to give the results again. Why didn’t they complain during the announcement? They had the result sheets at that time,” Shahedunnabi said.

Alamgir also said a candidate can always contest the outcome of an election. First, they can move the EC tribunal. If the tribunal dismisses their plea, they can go to the appeals tribunal. “They will still have the court, the High Court.”