Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has accused the ruling Awami League of manipulating the voting and occupying polling centres by their polling agents during the two Dhaka city polls.
The BNP-backed mayoral candidates made the remarks at a post-election press conference at Emmanuelle's Convention Center in Dhaka's Gulshan 1 on Wednesday.
Addressing the program, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said: "The government has very systematically made the elections controversial. Now it is a matter of thought whether the mayors elected in the controversial polls, can take their responsibilities legally or not."
The BNP senior leader demanded the Election Commission hold a reelection of the Dhaka city polls.
The BNP-backed mayoral candidates and BNP General Secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir speak at a press conference at Emmanuelle's Convention Center in Dhaka's Gulshan 1 on Wednesday, February 5, 2020 | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune
In the press conference, a video documentary was also displayed containing the account of people who failed to exercise their franchise or faced trouble while casting vote through electronic voting machine (EVM).
Ishraque Hossain, who ran for the mayoral post in the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) elections, said: "I visited many polling centres on the election day and the centres were occupied by the Awami League activists as soon as I left the polling stations.
"I believe, the voter turnout was less than 10%. And therefore, the presiding officers were forced to exercise their authority to help cast additional votes in the EVM."
Tabith Awal, who was a mayoral runner in the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) polls, said: "The ruling party used various tactics on the polling day. They created panic among the voters and barred them to stand on queues.
"In the video documentary, we saw many people wearing police uniform without any badge. Will these people be arrested for impersonating police officials?"
