Jamaat-led alliance to challenge results in 32 constituencies

The alliance says it will seek legal remedy

The Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance has alleged irregularities in vote counting and result publication in at least 32 constituencies and said it will seek legal remedy.

Representatives of the alliance met four election commissioners at the Election Commission headquarters on Sunday and submitted a list of seats where they claim their candidates were narrowly defeated due to “fraud”.

Speaking after the meeting, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General AH M Hamidur Rahman Azad said the alliance had requested recounts in the identified constituencies.

“We raised concerns over irregularities in vote counting and the publication of results. In at least 32 seats, our candidates were defeated by narrow margins,” he said.

“It has happened in the case of Khelafat Majlis, myself as Jamaat assistant secretary general, the chief coordinator of the National Citizen Party (NCP) and several others. We have submitted a list and asked for recounting.”

Azad criticised the EC for issuing the gazette notification of the elected candidates shortly after the vote.

“The election was held on the 12th of February and the gazette was published at 11pm on the 13th,” he said.

He claimed that representatives of Jamaat and the NCP had requested the commission not to publish the gazette before complaints were addressed.

“We asked that the gazette for the disputed seats be suspended and that results be finalised after recounting to ensure transparency,” he said.

However, the EC has said that once the gazette is published, it has no further role in altering the results, though legal provisions remain available for aggrieved candidates.

Azad said the alliance would now pursue the matter through the courts.

“They say the legal door is open. We have heard that. We will go through the legal process. But our rights have been undermined — that question remains,” he added.

The BNP secured an absolute majority in the Feb 12 parliamentary election with 209 seats. The Jamaat-led alliance won 68 seats, with several smaller parties and independents taking the remaining constituencies.