'Voters stamped blank box next to my name as it was left empty': Mamunul lodges complaint with EC
'If the 3,000 rejected votes are counted as valid, I would win this seat,' he says
Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Ameer Mamunul Haque went to the Election Commission (EC) building at around 3am on Friday night to file a complaint alleging irregularities in vote counting in the Dhaka-13 constituency.
At around 2am, he submitted a complaint to the constituency's returning officer. After meeting him, Mamunul quoted the returning officer as saying, "The EC office is right next to this one. You may file your complaint there. After the results are declared, you may also go to court if you are aggrieved. We will act in accordance with any directive from the court. If necessary, votes will be recounted."
Speaking to The Business Standard, Mamunul alleged that ballot design flaws led to a significant number of his votes being declared invalid.
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"There are nine candidates in my constituency. Five names were printed on one side of the ballot and four on the other. My name was at the bottom on the left side. As the box next to my name was left blank, many voters mistakenly stamped the empty space. Those ballots were declared invalid," he said.
He further claimed that a similar situation occurred in Dhaka-8, where BNP candidate Mirza Abbas's name appeared in the same position on the ballot.
"In Dhaka-8, some seals also fell on the blank space next to Mirza Abbas's name. But those votes were counted in his favour," Mamunul alleged.
According to him, 1,200 of his votes were declared "invalid" after results from 50 polling centres were announced.
"Results from the remaining centres are yet to be declared. We estimate that if such votes from all centres are invalidated, the number could reach around 3,000," he said, adding that there are a total of 139 polling centres in the constituency.
Mamunul also said he had been informed that his nearest rival, BNP candidate Bobby Hajjaj, who contested with the sheaf of paddy symbol, was leading him by 2,200 votes.
"If the 3,000 rejected votes are counted as valid, I would win this seat," he claimed.
