BNP claims ‘unusual’ voter migration ahead of Bangladesh polls

Dhaka: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Sunday, February 1, alleged it found an “unusual” voter migration in Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh ahead of the February 12 parliamentary elections.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by late former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s son Tarique Rahman, also demanded Election Commission (EC) data on such suspicious activities.

“A large number of voters migrated to some specific constituencies in Dhaka and other parts of the country over the last year-and-a-half, which is unusual,” BNP’s Election Steering Committee chairman Nazrul Islam Khan told reporters emerging from a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin.

Khan said the BNP asked the EC to provide the constituency-wise voters’ migration data.

“The EC said the number of migrated voters to each constituency was not more than 2,000-3,000,” Khan said but added that the party is not satisfied with the explanation and feared the Commission was not provided with exact data from departments concerned.

The BNP also alleged that about 20 to 30 voters were found registered under single holding numbers where only four or five people actually reside and in some instances voters were reportedly registered at locations with no holding numbers at all.

There is, however, no reaction from the Election Commission as yet about BNP’s allegations.

The BNP has emerged as the forerunner ahead of the next month’s elections after the Interim government led by Muhammad Yunus disbanded deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League preventing it from participating in the polls. On the other hand, BNP’s once crucial ally, the Jamaat-e-Islami, has emerged as its main rival.

Khan’s allegations came amid media reports that Jamaat supporters were changing their addresses particularly taking into account the strongholds of the party across the country.

The BNP leader said the party also questioned the credibility and capacity of the 55,000 local observers from 81 organisations recently approved by the EC, noting that many of them were largely unknown, to which he said, the commission promised to verify their credentials.

In an apparent reference to right-leaning Islamic party Jamaat, Khan alleged that a party was “misusing religious beliefs” in electioneering citing instances where campaigners for a “specific symbol” claimed that a “fourth question” would be asked in the grave regarding whether the deceased had voted for that symbol.

He did not take names but it was an apparent reference to several social media posts and videos being circulated claiming that voting for a particular symbol is a religious duty.