Although the interim government has taken initiatives to remedy other irregularities during the Awami League (AL) regime, there is no mention of punishing the bureaucrats involved in election fraud.
The interim government has made six returning officers OSD for the 11th election. Some have been transferred to less important positions. The rest are in their previous positions.
In the 11th parliamentary election, 65 returning officers were on duty in 64 districts. The deputy commissioner was changed after the announcement of the schedule in Feni. Divisional commissioners of Dhaka city and Chattogram metropolis were the returning officers. Additional deputy commissioners were in charge of assistant returning officers in the two metropolises. 494 Upazila Nirbahi Officers were Assistant Returning Officers. All 67 returning and 512 assistant returning officers are still in service.
- There is no mention of punishing the bureaucrats involved in election fraud
- All 67 returning officers and 512 assistant returning officers of the 11th nat'l polls are in service
Although the police and RAB apologized for their involvement in disappearance and disappearance cases, the bureaucrats involved in vote rigging did not. On December 9, 30 returning and assistant returning officers of the last election met with the Election System Reform Commission. They blamed the police for irregularities in the election. According to them, the returning and assistant returning officers were helpless. The police and law enforcement agencies did not listen.
In an exchange of views on December 25, police, Ansar and BGB officials admitted to some extent responsibility for vote fraud. In the past, 30 election officials told the commission that members of the law enforcement agencies and those on election duty were given cash money.
Though police officers confessed to their crimes after the change of power, they were awarded the SP Seva Police Medal in 64 districts for successfully completing the 2018 elections.
The National Security Intelligence (NSI) under the Prime Minister's Office conducted division-wise surveys ahead of the 2018 elections. According to this report, AL's victory in only 22 seats in the eleventh election was certain. In the rest, BNP or Jamaat-e-Islami candidates were likely to win. AL's ally Jatiya Party was likely to win one seat. The BNP alliance was likely to win 211 seats. The opposition alliance was ahead in seats where there could be a fight.
A banker was the assistant presiding officer of one of the six polling stations at Monipur High School in Dhaka-15 constituency. He said some policemen led by a sub-inspector came and asked for ballot papers and seals around 7pm on December 29. Later, he handed it over to the police at the behest of the presiding officer. Police stuffed 3,000 of the 4,800 votes in boxes the night before.
In the 11th election, there were 40 thousand 183 polling centers. An equal number of first and second class officers served as presiding officers. More than 700,000 government and non-government officials and employees, including assistant presiding officers, polling officers, security forces, were in charge of the election. According to the news published at that time, since July 2018, the officers and employees who took part in the election were scrutinized by intelligence agencies and police.
A teacher of a private school in Dhaka, who was a BCL supporter during his student life, said, "My family's political identity was searched by contacting detectives. He said the assistant would make the presiding officer. Although they were satisfied with my Chhatra League identity, did not give me the responsibility as my in-laws' were in BNP's post."
In any past election, the difference between AL and BNP votes was not more than 15 percent, but it was 64 percent in 11th election! According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 3.5 percent of the population i.e. 58 lakh Bangladeshis live abroad. But in the 11th election, 100 percent votes were cast in 213 polling centers in 103 seats. In 1,205 centers, 96 to 99 percent votes were cast. Between 90 and 95 percent of the votes were cast in 6,484 centers. That is, more than 90 percent of the votes were cast in 7,902 centers, which is about 20 percent of the total voting centers. Generally, a voter turnout of more than 75 percent is considered unusual. AL's boat got 100 percent votes in 586 centers. Paddy Sheaf did not get a single vote in 1,285 centers.
Despite such unusual results, KM Nurul Huda said he was satisfied with the election. In the end, there was no BNP candidate in 14 seats due to his misinterpretation of the Commission Act. According to the 2009 law, upazila chairmen and municipal mayors are not obliged to resign to be MP candidates. The candidature of 46 candidates was cancelled as the Election Commission added conditions for accepting their resignations.
According to the members of the AL's election steering committee and bureaucrats, the voting at night was the brainchild of HT Imam, the then Election Commission Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed, Police Chief Dr Javed Patwary, Secretary Kabir Bin Anwar, but all bureaucrats and police officials implemented it. No one tried to resist. The then army chief Aziz Ahmed was also a supporter.
The exception was Chapainawabganj district. BNP won two seats in the district. AZM Nurul Haque, who was the returning officer, is now the joint secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare. He said, "Whatever happened across the country, I did not spoil my name in Chapainawabganj."
The BNP, which was never defeated in Lakshmipur-1, got 2.02 percent of the votes there. Anjan Chandra Paul, the returning officer of the incredible results, is currently the joint secretary of the Ministry of Relief and Disaster Management. He was not seen at the Secretariat on Tuesday. Although he was found on the phone for two days, he stopped talking when the topic of election came up.
Others have the same reaction. Noakhali returning officer Tanmoy Das was promoted to additional secretary in the next five years. He was made OSD on September 7. Shaila Farzana of Munshiganj and Tanmoy Das of Noakhali have also been made OSD. Cumilla returning officer Abul Fazal Mir has been transferred to Technical and Madrasah Education Division.Some others were transferred but got important posts during the interim government. For example, Dr. KM Kamruzzaman Selim, who was in charge of returning in Thakurgaon, went to plan from agriculture.
The returning officers are: Sebastian Rema and Abdul Matin (Feni), Tapan Kumar Biswas (Bagerhat), Kabir Mahmud (Barguna), Foyez Ahmed (Bogura), Md Majedur Rahman Khan (Chandpur), Abu Saleh Mohammad Ferdous Khan (Dhaka), Mohammad Helal Hossain (Khulna), Dr Subhas Chandra Biswas (Mymensingh), Syeda Farhana Kawnine (Narsingdi) and Md Shahriaz (Natore). Nazia Shirin of Nilphamari, SM Abdul Kader of Rajshahi, SM Mostafa Kamal of Satkhira, Anar Koli Mahbub of Sherpur, Kamrun Nahar Siddiqa of Sirajganj.
