“The lopsided election is being held today. There are no voters at the polling stations” : Rizvy

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Sunday alleged that the ballot boxes were stuffed even in the one-sided election at night to show fake turnouts. 

“The lopsided election is being held today (Sunday). There are no voters at the polling stations,” he said.

Speaking at a brief rally near the Kurmitola Bus Stand area, he said people have rejected the dummy election.

“People are not going to polling stations. They (AL) stuffed the ballot boxes in this one-sided election late at night to show fake turnouts,” Rizvi said.

He said their ongoing movement would continue until the fall of the illegal Awami League government.

The BNP leader urged the country’s people to peacefully observe the hartal and make it a success.

Later, Rizvi along with some leaders and activists brought out a procession in support of the hartal.

Regarding BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi’s complaint that ballot boxes were filled by Awami League supporters on Saturday night, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun said that the ballot papers were sent to the polling stations in the morning in front of the journalists.

“You (journalists) can tell when the ballots were sent to the polling stations. You can judge how true this allegation is. One would call this allegation baseless,” he added.

The voting of the 12th parliamentary election began at 8am on Sunday amid a boycott by major opposition parties.

Meanwhile, BNP and like-minded opposition parties enforced a 48-hour hartal at 6am Saturday to protest the 12th parliamentary election. The hartal will end at 6am on Monday.

The BNP along with nearly three dozen opposition political parties have been carrying out a simultaneous movement since December 10 last year to force the current government to quit and hold the 12th parliamentary election under a non-party neutral administration.

Many senior leaders, including BNP’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, were arrested while many others went into hiding in the face of a crackdown by the law enforcers.

However, BNP and like-minded parties enforced countrywide blockades for 23 days in 12 phases and hartals for five days since October 29 amid incidents of violence like setting fire to public vehicles and passenger trains.

https://www.dhakatribune.com/336092