The Awami League used party men, police and administration officials to influence the 11th parliamentary polls, BNP-led Jatiya Oikyafront leaders said yesterday at a “mass hearing”. 

The alliance leaders said ghost cases were filed against its activists and they were harassed and detained without warrants.

“There was no voting on December 30 and so the government formed from it is not valid,” said Maj Gen (retd) AMSA Amin, who had run with Dr Kamal Hossain-led Gonoforum ticket from Kurigram-2.         

The Oikyafront arranged the “mass hearing” on “so-called parliamentary election” at the Supreme Court Bar Association auditorium. A number of the alliance candidates had filed election petitions with the High Court challenging the December 30 polls results.

At least 41 candidates testified during the over seven-hour-long session of the “mass hearing” before a panel that included Dr Kamal and former Dhaka University vice-chancellor Prof Emajuddin Ahmed.

Leaders of the BNP and its political allies said they, by taking part in the December 30 polls, had “unmasked the ruling party”. Top BNP leaders, including its Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Vice-Chairman Abdullah Al Noman and Standing Committee Member Abdul Moyeen Khan attended the programme.

Sabina Yasmin, who ran from Natore-2, said, “I was getting ready to go to the polling stations after learning that my polling agents had been driven out of there on election day.”

She said she could not cast her vote even because her house had been padlocked from the outside that morning.

Detectives in plainclothes picked up her husband -- BNP Organising Secretary Ruhul Kuddus Talukder Dulu -- on December 12. Dulu is now in Keraniganj jail.

Sabina said on December 20 when they were distributing campaign flyers, 30 to 40 AL men harassed her and 15 women working for her campaign.

Four days later, about 500 armed AL men attacked her campaign team of 200, most of whom were women, said Sabina, adding that she along with her activists took cover in a drug store.

They were confined to the shop until police rea

Attendees at the programme offering prayers for the victims of the Chawkbazar fire. Photo: Prabir Das

“I hired fewer men [for the campaign] because they used to get clobbered with hammers,” she said.

Sabina claimed that she could not campaign after December 24.

Anisur Rahman Talukder, who was the BNP candidate for Madaripur-3, said the AL had repeatedly been saying that “the opposition party didn't campaign, didn't have posters printed, and didn't ask for votes”.

Whenever they tried to campaign, they were harassed, attacked, and their posters were torn, he said.

Several other candidates echoed him. Law enforcers cordoned off candidates' houses and when they or their activists came out of the houses, they were picked up, often without any arrest warrants, they said.

Anisur said he learnt from his sources on election day morning that 80 percent of the votes had been cast between 2:30am and 5:00am that day.

BNP leader Rumana Mahmud, who ran from Sirajganj-2, said police fired at her and her activists when they were campaigning on December 14. Her aide Mery Begum lost her eyesight in the attack, she said.

Sardar Sakhawat Hossain Bakul, BNP nominee for Narsingdi-4, alleged that his polling agents were ousted from 152 of 155 polling centres in his constituency on election day.

Nitai Roy Chowdhury, who ran from Magura-2 and bagged around 65,000 votes, alleged that before election day, police went to every ward, union and village in his constituency and threatened his party leaders and activists, detained some of them. They also harassed the women, he claimed.

BNP candidate for Satkhira-1 Habibul Islam Habib said he was nominated several times by the party and had bagged 1.46 lakh votes in the 2008 polls.

He said it was incredible that he got only 17,445 votes and had not got a single vote in 20 of 188 polling stations.

Other defeated candidates of the 11th parliamentary election also accused the ruling party, Election Commission, officials of the administration, intelligence and security personnel of violating the constitution and stripping people their right to vote.

Thanking the alliance members for arranging the “mass hearing”, Dr Kamal said, “It [December 30 polls] cannot be said an election but an event where the government in the name of election staged a farce.”

The government deprived the country's people of their rights, violated the constitution, and insulted democracy, he said.

Without mentioning any name, Dr Kamal said state servants who were in the administration should be ashamed of themselves because they forgot their constitutional duties and became servants of “a single individual”.

The eminent jurist also said BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia should be immediately released, unconditionally.

“It is a pity that even after 48 years of independence, we have to raise such demand for those who contributed to democracy,” he said, calling for unity to “restore” democracy in the country.

Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad, who declared himself the leader of the opposition in parliament, now wants the status of a deputy prime minister. But such a post does not exist.

The leader of the opposition now enjoys the status of a minister. If it is to be given the deputy prime minister's status, the constitution first needs to be amended to create the post.

“I will request the new government to formulate a law to upgrade the post of the opposition leader to deputy prime minister. I will place the proposal in parliament. I will also speak to the Speaker [of parliament] in this regard,” he said, while talking to reporters after taking oath as an MP at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury administered the oath at her office in parliament yesterday.

Ershad has been elected MP from Rangpur-3.

Twenty-two JP MPs-elect, except Ershad, took the oath as lawmakers of the 11th parliament on January 3. The JP chief could not take the oath due to illness.

After taking the oath yesterday, Ershad went to the room designated for the leader of the opposition at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

Sitting on the chair of the opposition leader, he told reporters that he was proud of taking oath as the opposition leader.

The former military ruler said he would request the government to elect the deputy speaker from the opposition MPs.

Ershad, who grabbed the state power in March 1982 by ousting the elected government of President Justice Abdus Sattar, said he would also request the government to upgrade the post of the opposition whip.

He said he would also urge the government to appoint more opposition MPs as chiefs of different parliamentary standing committees.

“We want to play the role of a strong opposition party in parliament. We will play our role following the rules of procedure in parliament. We will not boycott the parliament like the previous opposition parties,” he said.

JP Secretary General Moshiur Rahman Ranga told reporters that Ershad would be the first male in the last 27 to act as the leader of the opposition.

Just a day after the JP Parliamentary Party decided to join the Awami League-led grand alliance government, Ershad on January 4 came up with a completely opposite decision.

The JP chairman in a statement announced that his party would be the main opposition in parliament with no representation in the new cabinet.

Ershad, who was forced to step down from the president post following a mass movement in December 1990, also announced that he would act as the leader of the opposition and his younger brother and JP co-chairman GM Quader would be the deputy leader of the opposition.

Talking to this newspaper, several JP lawmakers termed Ershad's decision funny and arbitrary.

Earlier on January 3, JP Parliamentary Party unanimously decided that since JP contested the election under the banner of the AL-led grand alliance, they would join the government.

Sources at the Parliament Secretariat said Speaker Shirin Sharmin has yet to take measures to recognise Ershad as the opposition leader.

Ershad's wife, Raushan Ershad, was the leader of the opposition in the 10th parliament.

In the December 30 polls, the AL-led grand alliance secured 288 seats. JP, a key component of the alliance, bagged 22.

The BNP-led Jatiya Oikyafront managed to win only seven seats, while independent candidates got three.

The election in Gaibandha-3 was rescheduled for January 27 following the death of a candidate, and re-polling will take place at three centres in Brahmanbaria-2 on January 9.

The JP became the main opposition in the 10th parliament formed after the 2014 election, which was boycotted by the BNP-led alliance.

The JP in that election won 34 seats and its senior leader Raushan Ershad was recognised as the leader of the opposition. Three JP MPs were also made ministers.

Their dual role has been criticised. The party could not play its due role as the main opposition in parliament in the last five years.

Four university students remain missing since they were allegedly picked up by plainclothes men in the capital's Farmgate area on Saturday, the day before national election.

Their families yesterday held a press conference at Crime Reporters' Association Bangladesh, demanding safe return of the youths.

The missing are: Abu Khaled Mohammad Jabed, 25, a third year student of Bangla at Asian University; Borhan Uddin, 26, English student at Stamford University; Rezaul Khalek, 24, final year student of Pharmacy at Manarat University; and Syed Maminul Hasan, 27, former student of a Unani Ayurvedic Medical College.

“We are very anxious about their fate, as we have been out of contact with them for two days,” said Jabed's brother-in-law Yeasin Karim at the press conference.

He urged law enforcers to rescue the youths or to produce them before the court if they were detained for any crime.

Some plainclothes men identifying themselves as law enforcers dragged them out of a bus in Farmgate on their way home in Mirpur-1 after shopping at Aziz Super Market, Yeasin said quoting a friend of theirs who was also in the bus but escaped detention.

“We contacted local police stations and other wings of law enforcement agencies but all denied picking Jabed up,” he said.

The families drew attention of national and international human rights organisations to be vocal for their release.

Contacted, Abdul Baten, additional commissioner (detectives) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said they did not detain the youths.

Mufti Mahmud Khan, Rab's Legal and Media wing director also said they did not carry out any drive in Farmgate on that day.

Previous parliamentary opposition Jatiya Party (JP) today expressed dissatisfaction over the outcome of the 11th parliamentary election held Sunday.

Reflecting on it today, the party's Secretary General Mashiur Rahman Ranga said: “The party expected to win more than 22 seats in the election”.

However, he said, “Our party is now stronger than before”.

“We will decide tomorrow whether we will remain as an opposition in the parliament,” he said; adding “the joint meeting will be held with the newly elected lawmakers and standing committee members at 11:00am tomorrow”.

HOW WAS THE ELECTION?

Voting for the 11th parliamentary election ended peacefully in Dhaka; but was tainted with violence elsewhere across the country and cost the lives of at least 19 people.

Reports of casualties came in from Cumilla, Chattogram, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Rangamati, Cox’s Bazar, Bogura, Noakhali, Narsingdi and Gazipur.

Allegations of vote rigging, election clashes, intimidation and irregularities came in from several other constituencies and capital Dhaka city.

Also, the election saw opposition candidates boycotting elections in at least 43 constituencies; 42 of who were Jatiya Oikyafront runners.