Stamping, stuffing in absence of BNP agents

Local ruling party men and leaders of its associate bodies at most of the polling centres of Munshiganj municipality were found instructing the activists to force the voters to cast votes for ‘boat’ or stamp on the party symbol in the ballot papers.
‘Just go inside the polling booth and ask the voters to cast a vote for boat and if the voters do not agree, then you stamp on the ballot papers and stuff the boxes,’ a ruling party leader was heard instructing a group of activists in front of PTI Parikkhan School polling centre at about 9am.
The group members were later found carrying out their leader’s instruction inside the polling booths of the school in absence of agents from Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
Asked about the whereabouts of BNP’s polling agents, presiding officer of the centre Nazmul Hasan said BNP’s polling agent might have stepped out for snacks.
At Government Hargnaga College polling centre, some ruling party leaders were also found instructing a group of activists at about 10am to go inside the polling booths and stamp on the ballot papers.
New Age found the group members taking ballot papers from the polling officers and stamping on the ballots. Sensing presence of journalists, they stopped stamping and came out from the booths.
Presiding officer of the centre, Anandamoy Bhoumik, however claimed that no vote fraud had taken place at his centre.
A polling agent of the ruling party was found stamping on the ballot papers while a polling officer assisted him at booth number 5 of Idrakpur number 1 Model Government Primary School centre, in absence of voters, at about 11:50pm.
In five polling booths of the centre there was presence of BNP agents. Awami League candidate’s polling agent Zakir Hossain at booth no 1 said that the BNP agent was at the booth but had went out of the centre to take lunch.
When asked about ballot paper stamping, presiding officer Nazrul Islam, feigning surprise, said he did not notice any such activity.
The same scene was visible at almost all the poling centres of Munshiganj municipality.
There was also no presence of BNP polling agents at a number of polling centres of Mirkadam municipality of Munshiganj district.
Ruling party men were stamping on the ballot papers in favour of the party mayoral candidate. In the afternoon, most of the centres ran out of ballot papers to give to authentic voters.
There was a conspicuous absence of BNP agents in most of the polling centers at Savar and Dhamrai municipalities of Dhaka district.
Presiding officer of Ideal School centre of Dhamrai, Shafiullah, said BNP had sent agents to the centre but they had gone out.

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