Jamaat challenges Bangladesh polls result, retracts welcome message for BNP

Dhaka: The right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami, which emerged as the main opposition party in the just-concluded Bangladesh polls, on Sunday challenged the results demanding the Election Commission to hold recounting of votes in 32 constituencies where its candidates were “unfairly defeated.”

The party also retracted a Facebook message acknowledging victory of its former ally the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in the polls that were held on Thursday and results for which were declared Friday.

The BNP, led by Tarique Rahman, swept to power with a two-thirds majority with 49.97 per cent votes and 209 seats while the Jamaat-e-Islami, which was opposed to the country’s 1971 independence from Pakistan, registered its best ever performance with 31.76 per cent votes and 68 seats.

On Sunday, after lodging the formal complaint with the Election Commission (EC), senior Jamaat leader Hamidur Rahman Azad said, “We have identified 32 constituencies where our candidates were unfairly defeated.” “The start (of the voting) was good, but the end was not,” Azad told reporters at the EC compound, adding, his party demanded recounting of votes in the 32 constituencies.

Election Commissioner Anwarul Islam, meanwhile, told reporters that the EC would decide on vote recounting as demanded by Jamaat if the commission received any court order.

“Their demand requires examination and analysis. The law provides them the opportunity – if there are any election-related complaints, they may inform the Court. The Court will then take a decision accordingly,” he said.

But, the commissioner said, the EC was satisfied about the vote management.

The development came a day after Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman conceded defeat in a Facebook post, saying, “BNP-led alliance has secured a majority of seats.” “We acknowledge this result and respect the constitutional process,” he said, but added the polling outcome “also reflects a deeper and more complex reality.” Several mainstream news outlets reported that the Facebook post was retracted minutes after it was uploaded.

The BNP alliance won 212 seats, compared with 77 for the Jamaat-led alliance.

Jamaat was a key partner in the BNP-led four party alliance floated in 1999 while two of their leaders served as minister in the 2001-2006 BNP-led government of former prime minister Khaleda Zia.