Barisal City Corporation Election Tribunal yesterday issued summons on 16 people including the mayor-elect, some mayor candidates and election officials in connection with the case filed on Tuesday by Sardar Sarfuddin Ahmed Santu demanding cancellation of BCC mayoral polls result.
Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) leader Santu lost the August 4 mayoral race to Awami League leader Shawkat Hossain Hiron with a margin of 588 votes.
Election Tribunal Judge and First Joint District Judge of Barisal Wahiduzaman Sikdar yesterday heard two petitions on submission of election documents by the election commission and video footages by concerned television authorities.
After the hearing, he ordered issuance of summons notices against the 16 asking them to appear before the court on October 4, next hearing date.
The court also asked the returning officer to submit election-related documents and reports by October 4.
The 16 include BCC mayor-elect Shawkat Hossain Hiron, mayoral candidates Ahsan Habib Kamal, Ebaidul Huq Chan, Enayet Pir Khan, A K Azad, Syed Abdullah Shahidul, Kabiruddin Hannu, Rafiqul Islam Russell and Jahirul Huq; returning officer Manirul Islam; and presiding officers Afazal Uddin Sikder, Md. Mashiur Rahman, Md. Nur Islam, Md. Ali Akbor, Md. Zakir Hossain and Asit Bhushan Shil at polling centers no. 18,19,31,36,57 and 79 respectively.
In the first such case filed with the tribunal, Santu demanded that the mayoral election results be cancelled and he be declared winner as the election was rigged and his nearest rival Shawkat had violated the electoral code of conduct.
In the case, Santu said the election was free and fair but the results were 'manipulated' in favour of his nearest rival Awami League leader Shawkat Hossain Hiron.
Santu alleged that the returning officer did not announce results of six centers till 2 am on August 5 though vote counting there was completed by 10 pm on August 4.
“It should take maximum half an hour to take the results from any of the centers to the election office, but it took about eight hours to announce those”, Santu alleged in the case.
“It was nothing but part of an engineering to manipulate results”, he said.