Half of all voting centres now under EC investigation

After receiving volleys of allegations of irregularities, the Election Commission yesterday extended its investigation to 26 more voting centres of the recently-held Barisal City Corporation (BCC) polls.

The commission has already investigated 30 centres. With the new ones, the total number of centres under investigation is 56, which is almost half of the total 123 polling centres under BCC.

The new phase of investigation was started at the Regional Election Office in Barisal city by taking statements of presiding, assistant presiding and polling officers, law enforcers and others involved in the election process of those centres.

EC officials said around a hundred people including candidates, polling agents and voters will be interviewed as part of the investigation.

Khondaker Mizanur Rahman, joint secretary (election management-2), leads the four-member investigation committee as convener.

The other members are Farhad Hossain, acting deputy secretary, EC; Shahid Abdus Salam, deputy director (training) of Election Training Institute, EC; and Md Shah Alam, senior assistant secretary (establishment-2), EC.

Head of the committee Mizanur Rahman told the journalists that they decided to investigate 56 polling centres including the 15 where results were withheld and the one which was cancelled as a voting centre on the election day.

“We'll submit our report within 15 working days to the EC. On the basis of our report, the authorities concerned of the commission will decide whether to conduct re-election in those centres or publish the official results,” he said.

Returning Officer of BCC election Md Mujibur Rahman said, “I'm sure that re-election would be held in some of the voting centres. The official election results would be finalised on the basis of the report to be submitted by the investigation team.”

There were 123 voting centres in BCC election, which was beset with widespread irregularities including stuffing ballot boxes, occupying the centres, and coercing voters to cast ballots for particular candidates.

On the election day, July 30, the EC suspended the results at 15 centres while cancelling the voting at one centre altogesther due to irregularities.

According to the results of the remaining 107 centres, Awami League candidate Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah got 1,07,353 votes and his rival BNP's Mujibur Rahman Sarwar 13,135 votes.

Initially, when the EC started investigation in the 16 centres, they received so many allegations that the commission extended it to further 14 centres. Now it has reached 56, according to EC officials.