BNP urges EC not to use EVMs in Dhaka city polls

BNP on Monday formally urges the election commission to abandon its decision to use Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the upcoming elections to two Dhaka city corporations, reports UNB.

A six-member BNP delegation, led by party standing committee member Amir Khosru, came up with the demand at a meeting with the chief election commissioner and other commissioners at the Nirbachan Bhaban.

Khosru along with BNP standing committee member Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, chairperson’s adviser Bijan Kanti Sarker, joint secretary general Syed Moazzaem Hossain Alal and its two Dhaka city polls mayoral candidates Tabith Awal and Ishraque Hossain held the meeting with the commission and presented their logics about not using the EVMs in the polls.

They also handed over a letter, signed by their party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, containing a 21-point demand, to the election commission.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Khosru said, “EVM is nothing but a project of rigging votes automatically and silently without any uproar. The election results depend on EVM’s programming, not on the votes of people.”

He also said the logics the EC has presented for EVM use are not acceptable.

Out of 200 countries in the world, the BNP leader said only four are using EVMs in their elections.

“Neither the government nor the election commission is controversial in those four countries. But both the government and the election commission in Bangladesh are controversial. So, a transparent and acceptable election with EVMs is not possible here.”

He said their party is deadly against the use of EVMs in the polls as it thinks people will not be able to exercise their right to franchise through EVMs.

Khosru said they also informed the commission that their party-backed a councillor candidate was arrested while another was abducted who was later found in Munshiganj. “The house of our female candidate was vandalised. A process is on to snatch the election by escalating fear and intimidating voters.”

He said the EC has assured them that no-one will be arrested until 30 January unless there is any big incident.