The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Monday said that ruling Awami League (AL) supporters forcibly took control of polling centres for massive rigging in the fifth phase of upazila polls.
“Ruling party activists have taken control of polling centres and stuffed ballot boxes since morning. The local administration and security forces helped them to rig votes,” BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told a press briefing in the afternoon on Monday.
Voting in 73 upazilas began at 8:00am and continued till 4:00pm without any break.
On Sunday, the BNP had expressed apprehensions of ‘large scale rigging’ by the Awami League men in Monday’s polls.
Rizvi alleged that the polling agents of the pro-BNP candidates were not allowed to enter the voting centres in different places. He criticised the Election Commission (EC) for postponement of elections in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila. The commission had put off the election defying a court order, he said.
The decision was taken fearing defeat of the pro-Awami League candidate, Rizvi alleged. He further alleged that most of the polling centres in about two dozens of Upazilas were captured by ruling party men forcing the BNP backed candidates to boycott the election as their election agents were beaten and driven away from many places.
