The BNP on Saturday alleged that a political party is engaging in organised efforts to manipulate the upcoming national election through what it described as “election engineering.”
Speaking at a press briefing at the party’s election office in Dhaka’s Gulshan, BNP Central Election Steering Committee Spokesperson Mahdi Amin said recent developments point to a deliberate plan to influence both the voting process and the outcome of the polls.
“Multiple incidents suggest a coordinated conspiracy aimed at distorting the election,” Mahdi said, adding that the party has received information from different areas about preparations to misuse burqas and niqabs to conduct fake voting by exploiting religious sentiments.
Mahdi, who also serves as an adviser to BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, cited the recovery of six illegal voting seals in Laxmipur and the arrest of a local printing press owner as major evidence supporting their claim. According to him, the press owner admitted in court that the seals were produced on the instructions of a Jamaat-e-Islami leader.
He said preliminary investigations uncovered WhatsApp order records, seized equipment and other materials indicating direct links between the operation and a candidate, reinforcing BNP’s allegation of an organised plot.
Demanding accountability, Mahdi called for legal action against all individuals involved in the incident.
Raising further concerns, he alleged that large quantities of burqas and niqabs have been prepared in several parts of the country to facilitate impersonation at polling centres.
He urged the Election Commission (EC) to deploy sufficient female polling officers at women’s booths and to strictly enforce voter identification rules, including the requirement for voters to keep their faces uncovered during verification, in line with existing laws and guidelines.
Mahdi also emphasised the need for political parties to appoint female polling agents in women’s booths to strengthen transparency.
The BNP spokesperson further alleged that the same political party had earlier collected National ID information and mobile banking details from households, raising fears of voter impersonation and financial manipulation.
He also claimed to have information suggesting preparations to print excess ballot papers.
Referring to a recent law enforcement operation, Mahdi said 152 cricket stumps were recovered from the residence of a leader of that party in Sutrapur of Old Dhaka questioning whether preparations for election-day violence were underway.
He also raised objections over the appointment of election observers, alleging that several approved organisations have affiliations with a particular political party. As an example, he pointed to the People’s Association for Social Advancement (PASA), which has been approved to deploy the highest number of observers nationwide.
Of the 55,454 local observers approved by the EC, Mahdi said PASA alone was allocated 10,559, despite media reports that the organisation operates from a single room in a village house in Habiganj.
Mahdi further said that the BNP has previously brought these issues to the attention of the EC and warned that such irregularities threaten the credibility of the election.
He urged the EC and the interim government to take immediate measures to ensure a level playing field and guarantee a free, fair and neutral national election.
.jpg "Former minister, Awami League leader Tofail Ahmed dies")
