Staff Reporter :
The Awami League candidate Moslem Uddin Ahmed has won the by-elections to Chattogram-8 parliamentary constituency amid a low turnout of voters and allegation of rigging.
He took the seat by a huge margin, bagging 87,246 votes while BNP’s Abu Sufian got 17,935 votes. Returning Officer Md Hasanuzzaman announced the results from all 170 polling stations at a control room set up at the MA Aziz Stadium’s Gymnasium Ground on Monday evening after the daylong voting.
With 107,581 votes cast for total six candidates in the constituency of 474,485, the turnout was around 23 per cent.
On the other hand, it has been alleged that by-polls has been ended through various irregularities, including polling centre capture by Awami League activists and crude bomb blast outside a voting centre.
However, BNP candidate Abu Sufian has demanded re-election just four hours before the completion of polls.
“I’ve sent a written complaint in this regard to the Election Commission,” Sufian said at a press conference at the BNP office in the city around 1pm on Monday.
Activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) drove voters out of polling stations after taking their fingerprints and preventing them from casting their votes, he alleged adding that BCL men have captured 120 polling centres out of 170 in the constituency.
He further alleged that the BCL activists also beat up and stabbed some BNP followers.
“Over 400-500 BCL and Jubo League men were seen standing in queues to demonstrate that the election is being held smoothly,” alleged Dr Shahadat Hossain, president of Chattogram City BNP.
The voting began at 9am at Chattogram-8 constituency which fell vacant after the death of Moinuddin Khan Badal.
