Move on to make govt loyalists presiding officers: BNP

BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Monday alleged that the government is conspiring to make ruling party loyalists presiding officers for the remaining upazila elections in a bid to manipulate the results.

“We’ve come to know from different upazilas and districts that the government has asked the authorities concerned to make officials loyal to it presiding officers for the next phases of the upazila polls changing the existing set. They’re doing this jus to manipulate the election results,” he said.

Rizvi made the allegation at a press briefing at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office.

He alleged that the government has gone mad seeing BNP taking lead in the first two phases of the upazila polls despite the ruling party’s widespread vote fraud. “Now they’re crafting plots afresh to manipulate the election results.”

In the first two phases of the upazila polls held on February 19 and 27 respectively, the BNP-led 19 party-supported chairman candidates won in around 116 upazilas while the ruling party favourites in 79.

The third phase of the upazila polls will be held on March 15 in 83 upazilas.

Rizvi alleged that the ruling party has grabbed at least 35 upazilas in the last two phases by capturing polling stations, rigging votes and resorting to terrorism.

Referring to a newspaper reports that the Prime Minister has threatened to be tougher during the next polls, the BNP leader said having failed to resist the victory of BNP-backed candidates despite their various evil designs the Prime Minister is now taking such a stance. “They’re issuing such threat to grab all the upazilas.”

“People want to know when their voracious desire will be fulfilled by grabbing how many more upazilas,” he added.

Voicing concern over the threat of the Prime Minister, Rizvi said people are now worried apprehending how many lives might be lost in possible violence, how many upazilas will be grabbed and how much repressive acts they resort to after the Prime Minister becoming tougher.

In line with the Prime Minister’s tough stance, ruling party leader Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim has threatened to cut the limbs of opposition leaders and activists, the BNP leader further alleged.