Transparency International, an anti-corruption group, said on Tuesday, it has found “irregularities” in about 47-50 constituencies it has surveyed during the last month’s general election in Bangladesh, which the opposition accused of vote rigging.
According to Reuters news reports, the group’s Bangladesh chapter said the poll that delivered Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to earn a third straight term was undermined by voter intimidation, ballot stuffing and the occupation of the polling booths among several other malpractices.
However, the Bangladesh government has rejected Transparency International’s reports saying that the group had “lost its neutrality” and should now be investigated for any “secret link” to the main opposition party – Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BPN).
According to Transparency International’s reports, it said the BNP-led opposition could effectively not campaign for the votes, government agencies have threatened the opposition workers, and the election commission could not even ensure a same-level playing field for all the parties in Bangladesh.
The ruling Awami League-led coalition won 46 of the 50 constituency races surveyed by the organization. There are 300 elected seats in parliament, and another 50 members are nominated.
The executive director of Transparency International’s Bangladesh chapter Iftekharuzzaman told reporters in Dhaka: “The Election Commission did not perform its role properly,” adding, “We recommend an investigation by a judicial inquiry committee because such an election is not positive for democracy.”
An election commission spokesperson said it would now hold operation to examine the group’s reports.
The political adviser to Hasina and co-chairman of Awami League’s election conducting committee HT Imam said the anti-corruption group, Transparency International, was “a puppet of the BNP”.
Imam told Reuters: “Now it’s time to investigate the (group) to bring to light whether it has any secret link with the BNP.”