BNP urges EC to work with ‘complete impartiality’ ahead of Feb 12 elections

Bangladesh’s BNP urged the Election Commission to act with complete impartiality ahead of the February 12 general elections, raising concerns over postal ballots, alleged code violations and bias, while the CEC defended the commission’s neutrality and sought cooperation for a fair, inclusive poll 

 Dhaka: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has urged the Election Commission to work with “complete impartiality”, weeks ahead of February 12 general elections.

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the remarks on Sunday evening after a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin at the Election Commission building in Agargaon, Dhaka, state-run BSS reported.

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Alamgir said the BNP has always cooperated with the Election Commission to ensure a free, fair and impartial election.

“However, we are now observing certain issues where arrangements appear biased and conduct raises concerns. We have urged the commission to refrain from such practices and to act with complete impartiality,” he said.

The BNP leader, elaborating on the meeting’s agenda, said “the postal ballot issue is still not fully resolved”.

“Specifically, we believe that the way ballot papers have been printed for registered voters residing abroad is not correct. There seems to be an attempt to give special advantage to a particular political party here. We have demanded a change in these ballot papers,” Alamgir said.

“We have also requested that those who will be on election duty within the country receive their postal ballots after the allocation of symbols. This is so that they can also have the opportunity to vote according to their judgment, just like any other voter,” he added.

On alleged violations of the electoral code of conduct and collection of personal information, he said, “A political party’s activists are going door-to-door collecting copies of voters’ NIDs, bKash numbers, and mobile numbers. This is a violation of personal privacy as well as a criminal offence. We have urged the commission to take urgent action to this end.” “A political party is resorting to unethical tactics by transferring voters from various parts of the country to Dhaka,” he claimed.

“We have requested the commission to urgently provide us with a detailed list of which areas, how many voters, for what reason, and when they were transferred to Dhaka,” he added.

The veteran BNP leader alleged that they have received complaints that in various electoral areas, “officials were working in favour of a specific political party”.

For the sake of a fair, free, and acceptable election, we have requested their withdrawal subject to investigation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin has urged cooperation from all stakeholders to hold a free, fair and inclusive election.

He made the remarks while addressing appellants and lawyers after a nine-day-long hearing on appeals against returning officers’ decisions on nomination papers for the 13th parliamentary election at the EC auditorium in the capital’s Agargaon area.

The CEC said the commission’s decisions were made without bias and with careful analysis.

All support from the public and stakeholders are essential to ensure a smooth and credible voting process, he added.