BNP acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today alleged the government held a farcical election “under a partisan election commission”.

“They are trying to make a fool out of the country’s people and the world,” Fakhrul told reporters this morning while paying his respects to BNP founder Ziaur Rahman’s grave.

Defending the move to participate in the union parishad elections, the leader said BNP took part in the union parishad elections as part of an “ongoing democratic movement.”

He alleged that the ruling party, through its violent activities and use of law enforcement agencies, is driving away its opponents from the election.

Fakhrul said different quarters are terming this election as as “project” through which the government wants to make a fool out of the people and the whole world through the election. 

Earlier today, BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi alleged that the ruling Awami League grabbed and occupied almost all polling centres in the first phase of the union parishad elections being held today.

“We have news of ballot hijacking, vote stealing and attempts to occupy the polling centres from all over the country” Rizvi said in a press briefing at BNP’s Nayapaltan headquarters.

“Voting at almost all the 717 polling centres have been tampered with”, he added.

BNP had feared of violence in the union parishad elections alleging that the Election Commission did little to prevent such irregularities beforehand.

They have been coming in hard on the Election Commission and even today voiced a subtle demand for the chief election commissioner’s resignation. “If such irregularities are continuing, why haven’t the CEC resigned.”