Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader today accused the BNP-led alliance of engaging in violence and carrying out bomb attacks realising imminent election defeat.

"The Jatiya Oikyafront lost its sense seeing huge public support for AL. Now, they are trying to trigger violence," he said after voting at Udayan Kindergarten polling centre in Basurhat municipality in the morning.

About 3,000 AL leaders and activists were injured until Saturday night but there is no report of injury from the opposition party, he claimed.

"The election is being held peacefully except for some stray incidents," Quader said. "I believe the voting will end peacefully ... [and] the people's expectation will be fulfilled."

Quader said he would accept the election result. "I am 100 percent hopeful about the AL-led grand alliance's victory," he said.

Strongly denouncing the election-day violence in Bangladesh, Western powers have said there are “credible” reports that polls irregularities marred the voting on December 30.

Diplomatic sources said the strongly-worded statements from the USA, the UK, and the European Union was indicative that they might mount pressure on the Bangladesh authorities for transparent examinations into the alleged irregularities, violent incidents, intimidation and harassment that created obstacles for the opposition candidates to campaign freely.

The UN also echoed the concerns, saying that it was aware of violent incidents and reports of irregularities in the Bangladesh general elections.

“We encourage the parties to address electoral complaints in a peaceful manner and through legal means,” the spokesperson for the UN secretary-general said in a statement on Monday.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller and UN Resident Coordinator Mia Seppo separately met with Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque yesterday and discussed issues raised in the US and UN statements on the Bangladesh polls.

According to diplomatic sources, the US ambassador at the meeting mentioned about a resolution adopted unanimously by the US House of Representatives on December 12.

The resolution (H. Res. 1169) titled “Reaffirming the commitment of the United States to promote free, fair, transparent and credible elections in Bangladesh” had called on the Bangladesh government to respect the freedom of speech and of the press and to heed the Bangladesh Election Commission's request to ensure security for minorities and maintain communal harmony for a peaceful election.

It had also urged the Bangladesh political leaders and judicial authorities to respect the will of voters and ensure that all Bangladeshis would be able to participate freely in the elections, and that the polls would be impartial and inclusive.

Conveying the message of their respective authorities to the foreign secretary, the US and UN envoys said Bangladesh should ensure addressing the claims and allegations of irregularities, said diplomatic sources.

Issues of cooperation and future engagement between Bangladesh and the US and the UN also came up for discussion at the meetings.

Meanwhile, Canada in a statement yesterday said it was disappointed by credible claims of irregularities exhibited during the campaign.

“While welcoming the increased participation of opposition parties in this election, Canada remains disappointed by credible claims of irregularities exhibited during the campaign and calls on the relevant authorities to work transparently with all parties to address these claims,” said Global Affairs Canada.

It called upon all concerned to proceed in a peaceful and lawful manner and to ensure that the rights to freedom of expression and assembly are protected in the transition period leading up to the installation of a new government.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mark Field, British minister of state for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in a statement said, “I am aware of credible accounts of obstacles, including arrests, that constrained or prevented campaigning by opposition parties, and of irregularities in the conduct of elections on polling day that prevented some people from voting.

He called for a full, credible and transparent resolution of all complaints related to the conduct of the elections.

“I deplore the acts of intimidation and unlawful violence that have taken place during the campaign period, and am deeply concerned by the incidents that led to so many deaths on the polling day. My thoughts are with the families and friends of those who have lost loved ones,” he added.

Free, fair, peaceful, and participatory elections were essential to any functioning democracy, said the British minister of state.

“It is vital for the government and all political parties to now work together to address differences and find a way forward in line with the interests of the people of Bangladesh.”

He said the UK would continue to support the people of Bangladesh in their aspirations for a more stable, prosperous, and democratic future.

In another statement on Tuesday, EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Maja Kocijancic said, “Violence has marred the election day, and significant obstacles to a level playing field remained in place throughout the process and have tainted the electoral campaign and the vote.”

He said the relevant authorities should now ensure a proper examination of allegations of irregularities and commit to full transparency in their resolution.

The USA in a press statement said, “We note with concern credible reports of harassment, intimidation, and violence in the pre-election period that made it difficult for many opposition candidates and their supporters to meet, hold rallies, and campaign freely,”

“We are also concerned that election-day irregularities prevented some people from voting, which undermined faith in the electoral process,” Robert Palladino, deputy spokesperson at the US state department said on Tuesday.

Awami League President Sheikh Hasina will brief foreign journalists and observers who came to Bangladesh to monitor the 11th national election held yesterday.

The briefing will be held at Gono Bhaban today, AL Joint General Secretary Abdur Rahman made the announcement while briefing journalists at the party president's Dhanmondi office this morning.

Abdur Rahman also expressed his gratitude to all, including the law enforcers and the observers, to contribute towards "holding the election in a free and fair manner."

Sheikh Hasina is set to become Prime Minister of Bangladesh for a third term as the Hasina-led Awami League won a landslide victory in the polls held yesterday.

The Election Commission touted the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) as a foolproof alternative to the traditional method of ballot paper, but that too fell prey to sweeping abuse yesterday.

Some 5,045 EVMs were deployed in 845 polling centres in six constituencies -- Dhaka-6 and -13, Chattogram 9, Rangpur 3, Khulna 2 and Satkhira 2 -- and the common complaint of voters was that their ballots were cast by someone else in their presence.

This was feared by majority of the registered parties, including the BNP and its allies, who said the deployment of the instrument would facilitate “the government's plan for election engineering”.

Voters are in a queue at Rayerbazar Community Centre in Dhaka city on Sunday, December 30, 2018. Photo: Sujit Sarker

Another problem with the new voting method used during the 11th general elections was that polling was halted for several hours at many booths for malfunctioning units.

In theory, the EVMs would be activated by the voter's smart card, voter number or national identification number.

The voter would then have to use his/her fingerprint for verification purpose and then proceed to cast vote on the balloting unit, which would be kept in a separate room.

As a result, the voting process would be immune to rigging. When the system worked as it was supposed to, the voting experience was quick and fuss-free, many said.

But what transpired for the most part yesterday was far from it: party activists preyed on voters, most of whom were unfamiliar with the workings of the EVM.

Take the case of Rahima Begum, a resident of CRB area under Kotwali Thana of Chattogram. She was eagerly looking forward to voting on the EVM, but her curiosity turned to despair at the polling booth.

A lady offered to guide her through the use of EVM. “She took my fingerprint and asked me to leave,” the 45-year-old told The Daily Star.

The confirmation on computer after successfully voting in EVM. Photo: Star/Sujit Sarker

She was told her voting was completed, much to her bewilderment. “When I tried to know on which symbol the vote was cast, they simply told me to leave,” Rahima added.

Similar accounts were heard from Khulna-2 constituency, particularly from female voters.

An excited Shelly Begum arrived to cast her vote at Sher-e-Bangla Primary School but a young lady pressed the button to cast the vote on the EVM -- before Shelly could do it herself.

“I could not cast my vote because of that lady,” said an annoyed Shelly.

Sarmin Sultana had a similar experience when she went to vote around 1:00pm. Two women of Awami League tried to enter the voting room with her to guide her through the process.

But when she declined their help, they dragged her out of the centre.

When it was not the case of unwitting voters being exploited, it was the party activists themselves who proceeded to cast votes for absentee voters on the EVM with the help of presiding officers.

Our correspondent visited Wari Girls' Government Primary School at about 2:20pm and saw a young man giving voting numbers to the polling officer, who was inputting the numbers on the EVM one by one.

The voters' profiles were flashing on the screen -- and none of the photos that came up matched with the faces nearby. The young man was using his fingerprint to unlock the voting page for the numbers and understandably they would not match.

Then another man swooped in and used his fingerprint, which unlocked the voting page. Soon after, the correspondent saw that the screen was flashing the message: 'Your voting has been completed'.

When the fingerprints do not match on the EVM, the assistant presiding officers have the authority to unlock the system for 25 percent of the cases.

The correspondent then went to Sher-e-Bangla Balika Mahavidyalaya next, where he saw a similar sight.

In fact, it was more pronounced here: almost all the polling booths had someone else casting votes on behalf of others.

The correspondent approached the presiding officer Shahidur Rahman Khan in his cabin and informed him of the incidents. “I do not know anything of this nature,” he said.

Similar scenes of the system being gamed were seen at the voting centres of Dhaka-6.

At about 3:00pm at Kamrunnesa Government Girls High School, a lady was complaining at the top of her voice that her vote had already been cast. Agitated, she went to the presiding officer to inform of the foul play, but it came to no use.

The correspondent then went up to the polling officer, who seemed resigned to what was unfolding at venue. “There is nothing I can do about it,” he said, requesting anonymity.

Another correspondent arrived at the Sutrapur Community Centre 10 minutes before polls closed and found the venue buzzing with people.

Security forces came in and asked everyone except the polling agents to leave. A swarm of people rushed to leave the venue, and all were wearing badges of the Grand Alliance.

Asked about the large presence of people with no EC passes, the polling agent Fahad said: “It's because the EVM is complicated to use -- we had volunteers to guide them through the process.”

Over at Dhaka-13, voting was paused at six booths in five centres for two to six hours for malfunctioning EVMs. Those who arrived in that time frame had to leave without voting.

The Daily Star visited 17 centres in the constituency and found several machines were unable to read fingerprints.

At Mohammadpur Girls High School, a man complained that polling agents wearing 'Boat' badges were shadowing voters to the balloting room and intimidating them to cast their vote for Awami League.

Awami League candidate Sadek Khan was contesting against BNP's Abdus Salam and Jatiya Party's Shafiqul Islam for the seat.

Voting was still going on at the venue at around 4:15pm.

The assistant presiding officer was seen helping five youths unlock the voting system with his fingerprint. As a photographer tried to take a picture, a youth wearing the 'Boat' badge threatened her and told her to leave.

Over at Satkhira-2, EVMs in two booths of Mridanga and Rajnagar centres were not functioning from the onset. The devices were flown in by helicopter to Dhaka for repair. They were not returned to booths until 3:00pm, our correspondent reported.

A similar incident took place at Nurpur Government Primary School of Rangpur-3 constituency. After being repaired in Dhaka, the EVM was flown in to the venue at about 4:00pm, when voting started again and went on until 6:00pm.

But it was not all bad news: many voters quite enjoyed casting their votes with the EVM.

“It took all of three minutes to cast my vote,” said Mohammad Sohel, a 30-year-old voter after casting his vote at Suritola Model Government Primary School.

Just two buttons need to be pressed to cast one's vote, said Osama Rahman, a young voter.

“It's just so easy to use,” he added.

Delwar Hossain Khokon, a 40-year-old, waxed lyrical about the system after casting his vote at Banglabazar Government Primary School.

“It is a good system if there are no anomalies in voting,” he said.