Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader today said the nation will witness a “vote revolution” in favour of the party symbol “boat” on the December 30 election day.

“The revolution of vote will be against the communal and evil forces,” Quader, also the minister for Road Transport and Bridges, said while inspecting repair works on the Feni-Noakhali-Laxmipur road in Jaylaskaer area of Daganbhuiyan upazila in Feni.

Expressing optimism that the election will be held in a free, fair and festive manner, he said the countrymen have been united in favour of “boat” and will engage in a vote revolution against the communal, evil forces that resort to terrorism and corruption.

“Those who are involved in politics with a Pakistan-inspired spirit have been hatching plots to create anarchy on the election day,” the AL general secretary said.

“Some of them may try to incite violence in the name of guarding polling centres. They will be resisted with iron hands and everyone must remain alert against them,” he also said.

Quader also pledged the Feni-Noakhali-Laxmipur road will be developed to four lanes if AL comes to power again.

Replying to a query, the AL leader said in order to continue the trend of development, AL will come to power again through the citizen’s “vote revolution”.

BNP today placed promises for the ICT and outsourcing sector of the country in its election manifesto announced today.

Here are some of the significant promises from the party:

• All kinds of "illogical bars" for bringing foreign currency earned through information technology-enabled services (ITES) will be removed.
• Low cost Global Payment Gateway facilities will be provided to those involved with freelancing and outsourcing.
• Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN), Internet Service Provider (ISP) and International Internet Gateway (IIG) markets will be made open.
• Augmented reality, animation, robotics sectors to be boosted with investment.
• VOIP systems will be made open for all.
• Zero tariff on ICT equipments.
• The metropolitan areas, municipalities and other administrative centres will be gradually turned into smart villages, smart cities and smart municipalities.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today unveiled the election manifesto of the party ahead of the 11th national elections slated to be held on December 30.

Ruling Awami League activists in Cumilla today flexed their muscles to release a party man from the custody of local police just two days ahead of election.

Over a hundred men of the party surrounded a local police station to free one of the supporters after the latter was detained, our local correspondent reports.

Awami League activist Syed Raihan was detained around 2:00pm by Cumilla Kotwali Police for reasons not ascertained, according to local police sources.

Awami League activist Syed Raihan. Photo: Collected

AKM Bahauddin, current lawmaker from Awami League for Cumilla-6 and a candidate of the seat in the election, went to the police station hearing the news.

Bahauddin went inside and talked with the officer-in-charge, and after a short while, Raihan was released without further ado.

Asked about it, Abu Salam Mia, officer-in-charge of the police station, told The Daily Star: “The detention was made out of a misunderstanding. He did nothing wrong.”

AL supporters took positions on both sides of the police station road. Photo: Star

Seeking anonymity, some local Awami League activists told The Daily Star that Raihan was a member of a rival group of the party, but switched sides recently to work for MP Bahauddin.

Tariqur Rahman Jewel, general secretary of Cumilla Sadar Awami League, told The Daily Star: “Since there were no cases against him, our lawmaker went to the police station to get him out so that he is not harassed without reason.”

Expressing concern over alleged harassment, intimidation and electoral irregularities in the December 30 election, Norway has called for a transparent investigation into the allegations.

“Norway is concerned about credible reports of harassment and intimidation, as well as the presence of serious obstacles to a level playing field throughout the election process. We deplore the violence and tragic loss of life during the campaigning period and on election day,” said Marianne Hagen, state secretary at foreign affairs ministry.

“Given the significant number of claims of irregularities, it is essential that these are investigated fully and transparently by the proper authorities.”

In a statement on Thursday, she said Norway commends the many Bangladeshis who exercised their democratic right to vote on election day, and welcomes the opposition's decision to contest the election for the first time in 10 years.

Hagen added, “Our countries' good and longstanding relations are based on mutual respect and the pursuit of common interests.

“Norway will continue to work with the government and the opposition, as well as other stakeholders, to further advance the democratic and economic development of Bangladesh.” 

Nearly half of the BNP candidates who took part in Sunday's election lost their security deposits for failing to secure the minimum votes, according to an analysis of the results of 214 constituencies.

This is the highest number of BNP candidates to have lost security money since the party was formed in 1979.

Under the election law, candidates have to deposit a certain amount of money to the government exchequer to stand in the election. The amount is fixed before every election, and it was Tk 20,000 per candidate this year.

To get the money back, candidates must obtain at least one-eighth of the total vote cast in their seats.

But as many as 214 BNP candidates bagged only 13 percent of the total votes. Of them, 101 candidates secured fewer than one-eighth votes and lost their security money, according to the analysis by The Daily Star.

According to the unofficial results from 298 seats, the AL has bagged 259 seats, Jatiya Party 20 and BNP only five seats.

The BNP has never faced such a situation in any election since June 1996, when it became the largest opposition party in parliament with 116 seats. In that election, only 36 BNP candidates lost their security money.

Even in the 2008 polls, when it bagged just 30 seats, only 14 BNP candidates lost their deposits.

In that polls, held under an army-backed caretaker government, the party fielded 260 candidates and won 32 percent of the total votes cast in those constituencies.

The BNP boycotted the 2014 parliamentary polls, as the ruling Awami League government refused to meet its demand for an election under a nonpartisan administration.

This time, its candidates lost their security deposits even in the districts traditionally known as BNP stronghold -- Chattogram, Noakhali, Feni, Cumilla and Natore.

For example, the BNP candidate in Chattagram-1 got only 3,911 votes. In 2008, the party candidate secured 94,665 votes there.

In Cumilla-5, the BNP nominee got 12,113 votes this time, down from 77,260 in 2008. In Feni-2, the party candidate got 1,20,297 votes in 2008 polls and won the seat. In Sunday's election, the BNP aspirant got just 5,784 votes.

In Laxmipur-1, the BNP candidate secured 74,276 votes in 2008. It came down to just 3,892 this time. 

In Natore-1 and 2, the party candidates got 15,338 votes and 13,197 respectively this time, down from over 1 lakh votes in each of these seats in 2008.