Former chief election commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda, currently in a four-day remand, is reportedly denying personal wrongdoing in the controversial 11th parliamentary election and shifting blame onto district and police administrators of the time.
He was placed under interrogation by the Detective Branch (DB) at Minto Road in Dhaka, starting Tuesday.
According to investigators, Huda claims that he did not orchestrate any malpractice during the 2018 polls and holds the then Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Superintendents of Police (SPs) responsible for any irregularities.
He alleges that the printing, distribution, and control of ballot papers, seals, boxes, and polling stations were carried out under their direction.
The remand was granted on Monday by Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman, following Huda’s arrest the evening before from his Uttara residence. The case was filed with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station.
Sub-Inspector Shamsuzzoha Sarkar, the investigation officer, said the former CEC is being questioned on 11 specific points. “He is evading responsibility in his responses,” the officer stated.
The charges against Nurul Huda include failing to ensure a free and inclusive election, violating constitutional duties, and using the administration in favour of one political party.
He is also accused of orchestrating vote-rigging the night before election day and publishing a manipulated election result.
Investigators are trying to determine under whose advice and cooperation Nurul Huda allegedly allowed polling officials to manipulate results and subsequently released a fraudulent gazette to declare a predetermined victory.
The case further seeks to identify whether he accepted bribes in exchange for engineering the election in favor of a particular party and to uncover who may have influenced his actions despite the Election Commission’s constitutional independence.
The FIR describes Nurul Huda as a “key architect of fascism” and states that it is essential to extract from him the names and methods involved in staging the so-called managed election.
Authorities are also seeking information on any bribes taken during different parliamentary terms to alter election outcomes.
The case includes charges under Section 171 (Ka) of the Penal Code and mentions unidentified and fugitive co-accused, whose identities investigators aim to uncover through Nurul Huda’s remand.