Staff Reporter :
Mayor aspirant for Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) MA Matin could not cast his own vote even after putting seal on the ballot paper.
The Islami Front Bangladesh-backed candidate alleged that some policemen drove him out of the polling station at Enayetbazar Mohila College center before he could drop his ballot paper to the box as he was trying to take the picture of election scenario with his own cameraman on Tuesday.
Giving details of the incident, Matin said he entered the polling station at 11:00am to cast his vote. He took his cameraman with him to take the pictures of election scenario. But a Police constable named ‘Bipul’ appeared rude to him when the Mayoral hopeful was going to drop his ballot paper.
“Police treated me badly and snatch away my camera. Finally, they pushed me out of the polling station, disallowing me to cast my vote,” he said.
Later, he withdrew himself from the CCC elections, raising allegations of widespread vote rigging.
Matin alleged that the cadres of ruling party, aided by on-duty Police officers, occupied the vote centers and spoilt the election environment in the polling stations.
The Mayor candidate of Islami Andolon Waiz Hossain Bhuiyan also boycotted the election, citing the irregularities of ruling party cadres.
President of the city unit of Islami Andolon Mohammad Islam declared the party’s decision in the afternoon. The Awami League cadres took control of the maximum polling centers in the CCC area and prevented the oppositions’ polling agents to enter the election centers.
“Our three agents were injured by the ruling party-men. They didn’t allow them to enter the polling stations. As such we were left with no other alternative, but to boycott the election,” he said.
However, Commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police Abdul Jalil Mondol said he was not aware of any such incident.
Talking to The New Nation, he said, “I haven’t got any report of capturing polling stations by any party. There were some isolated incidents of clashes, some incidents of chase and counter chase took place, but with the timely action of Police, RAB and BGB, everything was brought under control.”
Asked on the allegations of MA Matin and Waiz Hossain Bhuiyan, he said, “Nothing like that has happened.”
