Mahdi Amin, adviser to the BNP chairman and spokesperson for the Election Steering Committee, has said that in the upcoming national parliamentary election, every political party should get equal opportunity through a level playing field as expected by the people.
“However,” he said, “a political party is disrupting the level playing field in various ways, engaging in various conspiracies to create a controversial election process. This particular political party is persistently misusing religious sentiments for its own benefit.”
Speaking at a press conference organised at BNP’s election office in Gulshan on Thursday afternoon, Mahdi Amin said, “We saw in the media that people are being made to swear by touching the Holy Quran to vote for their symbol, which is a direct violation of the election code of conduct. Not only that, we have seen that particular political party going door-to-door to collect people’s national identity cards and bKash numbers, which has malicious intent behind it.”
He said, “Previously it went viral on social media that in several Middle Eastern countries, such as Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, hundreds of ballots are in the possession of workers of a specific party, which has created widespread controversy because organised voting is completely illegal. In some places, postal ballot papers are being collected using one person’s number for another. Since expatriate voting is being held for the first time in Bangladesh, we want equality and fairness ensured in expatriate voting as well. Notably, BNP was the first to pledge to establish expatriate voting rights.”
The adviser to the BNP Chairman said that in the case of postal ballots, the position of the ‘paddy sheaf’ symbol is towards the bottom, making it difficult to find easily. Even when folded, the paddy sheaf symbol is not visible or may be erased due to creasing. However, the symbols of rival political parties have been strategically placed at the top.
“This positional discrimination of symbols could have been removed by simply rearranging the number of lines, keeping the postal ballots transparent,” he said. “During the 16-year fascist era of disappearances, killings, attacks, and lawsuits, a few BNP candidates were outside the country. Naturally, they had acquired citizenship there, and as soon as their nominations were confirmed, they applied to renounce their citizenship. Despite having those application documents, attempts are being made to create complications regarding dual citizenship at the Election Commission. However, according to Article 66 of the Constitution, there is no room for any unnecessary debate on this.”
Mahdi alleged that several political parties are directly asking for votes for their respective candidates and parties, including their symbols, through various programmes and online. However, even though BNP Chairman Tariq ue Rahman wanted to visit several districts in Bogura and northern Bengal for personal trips to pay respects at his grandmother’s grave, Maulana Bhasani’s grave, or the graves of martyrs of the mass uprising like Abu Saeed and others, the Election Commission has requested to postpone those personal and religious visits. Respecting that request, Tariq Rahman has canceled his scheduled visits.
“But other political parties and leaders are continuously violating the code of conduct. This indifference of the Election Commission is also undesirable,” he said.
Mahdi Amin said, regarding Tarique Rahman’s daughter’s Facebook ID, Tarique Rahman stated that Barrister Zaima Rahman’s Facebook and Instagram IDs were recently verified by Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram). Apart from these two verified social media handles with a blue tick, she has no other official social media accounts. More than 50 fake IDs and pages have been removed by BNP’s ICT department, from which deepfake and AI-generated videos were being posted to spread misinformation. There are still some IDs and pages remaining; communication is ongoing with Meta authorities regarding their removal. Even many fake Facebook pages have been opened in the name of BNP Chairman Tariq Rahman’s wife, Zubaida Rahman. On these pages, fabricated and false videos created using AI are being spread. However, Zubaida Rahman has no social media account or page.
Mahdi Amin said, “BNP has already launched a call center. Anyone can call 16543 for inquiries, necessary information, advice, complaints, or opinions on any matter. With the aim of building public opinion on various policies formulated by BNP and accepting constructive criticism, Tarique Rahman will formally begin his election activities through his upcoming Sylhet visit on January 22. He said, the way BNP sincerely and earnestly stood for reforms in the National Consensus Commission, as a political party, although BNP submitted a note of dissent on the July Charter, it has still taken a position in favor of ‘Yes’ in the public vote.”
