Jamaat-e-Islami Calls Protest March in Dhaka Over Bangladesh Election Rigging Claims

Dhaka: A new government is about to be formed in Bangladesh and at that very moment the atmosphere is on fire. A coalition of 11 parties led by Jamaat-e-Islami is taking out a big protest march in Dhaka tomorrow i.e. on Monday. They allege that there was massive rigging in the recently held 13th parliamentary elections, there were irregularities in the voting and there was a lot of violence after the elections. All the big leaders and workers of the alliance are going to participate in it.

What allegations of rigging have been made?

NCP leader Naheed Islam revealed that there was massive tampering in the vote counting. They say that at least 10% of the votes were tampered with and the results on many seats were deliberately overturned. After the meeting of 11 parties in the Jamaat office, Nahid said, "The results were changed by targeting some specific seats, due to which how can the entire election be called fair?"

What has Jamaat-e-Islami demanded from the Election Commission?

Jamaat has directly challenged the election results. They have demanded a recounting of votes on 32 seats because their candidates were wrongly defeated there. Initially the Jamaat had accepted the victory of BNP on social media, but later deleted the post and are now raising questions on the entire election process.

Why did Tariq Rehman meet Jamaat and NCP leaders?

On Sunday, BNP Chief Tariq Rehman met Jamaat's Shafiqur Rehman and NCP's Naheed Islam. BNP called it an attempt to create a good atmosphere after the elections. This meeting took place at a time when BNP is going to form a new government in two days.

What was the score of BNP and Jamaat in the elections?

The BNP, led by Tariq Rahman, won a landslide victory – 49.97% votes and 209 seats, i.e. a two-thirds majority. Jamaat-e-Islami also had its best performance so far – 31.76% votes and 68 seats. But still the Jamaat is not happy with the results and is crying about rigging.

What will happen in politics from this March?

This big protest of the opposition just before the formation of the new government will further increase the tension in the politics of Bangladesh. The atmosphere is going to get more heated in the coming days due to allegations of rigging and demand for recount. It remains to be seen what answer the Election Commission gives.