Party symbol on the fold of postal ballots; deliberate, says BNP

The BNP has alleged that the party's electoral symbol, the sheaf of paddy, was deliberately placed within a fold on the postal ballot for the 13th national parliamentary election.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin at the Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon today (13 January), BNP Standing Committee member and party's Central Election Steering Committee Chairman Nazrul Islam Khan said the ballot paper had been designed in a way that "intentionally" put their symbol at a disadvantage.

"The issue was raised directly with the CEC. We discussed this with the commission. From their response, it seemed they had focused mainly on whether the arrangement was alphabetically correct and did not pay attention to this aspect," he added.

Nazrul Islam argued that the layout of the ballot paper created room for manipulation.

"They have used five columns and 14 rows, which resulted in three political parties having their names and symbols appear in the first row. If there were six columns instead of five, or four columns, or if the rows were 12 or 16 instead of 14, this situation would not have arisen," he said.

"So this has been done intentionally. It may not have come to your notice, but those who designed it may have done so with a specific purpose," the BNP leader claimed.

Earlier in the afternoon, a five-member BNP delegation, led by Nazrul Islam Khan, held a meeting with the CEC.

The meeting was also attended by four other commissioners and the EC secretary.

Other members of the BNP delegation included Ismail Zabiullah, a member of the BNP chairperson's advisory council and the party's election steering committee, former acting Election Commission secretary Mohammad Zakaria, and Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kajal.

Concerns over postal ballot handling abroad

Nazrul Islam further said the BNP had requested the Election Commission to correct and resend postal ballots already sent abroad, if possible. The party also urged the commission to ensure that the same approach is not applied to postal ballots within the country.

He said the BNP raised concerns about alleged control of postal ballots by a "special group" overseas and pointed to irregularities in distribution in several countries.

"As an example, we have seen videos from Bahrain showing leaders of a particular political party handling a large number of ballot papers. These videos have circulated widely on social media," he said.

According to him, the EC acknowledged the issue and said it had contacted the Bangladeshi ambassador in Bahrain. He added that the Bahraini government had confirmed being aware of the incident and that further investigation was underway, with action to be taken based on the findings.

Nazrul Islam said the BNP expects strict legal action against anyone attempting to manipulate or disrupt the election process.

Dual citizenship and alleged campaign code violations

The BNP leader also raised concerns over the treatment of candidates with dual citizenship, saying that relinquishing foreign citizenship should restore the constitutional right to contest elections. He said at least two candidates had already had their nominations cancelled, which the party views as a serious issue.

"Some of our candidates were forced to stay abroad during difficult times and had to take foreign citizenship. They have since renounced it. The constitution clearly states that once citizenship is relinquished, there is no legal barrier to contesting elections," he said, adding that the party had urged the Election Commission to ensure no citizen is deprived of constitutional rights.

Nazrul Islam also alleged violations of the election code of conduct by candidates and senior leaders of other parties, claiming that while BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman avoids public appearances due to large crowds gathering, others are openly campaigning.

He called on the commission to take action against such violations.

He reiterated that the BNP is not opposed to reforms and would support reform initiatives.