Jamaat candidate boycotts Sherpur-3 election alleging ‘ballot stuffing, intimidation’

Alleging widespread irregularities, ballot stuffing, and the forced removal of polling agents, Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Md Masudur Rahman has announced a boycott of the Sherpur-3 election.

The announcement came during a press conference held at the Sreebordi Upazila Jamaat office at 3:30pm on Thursday, while voting was still under way.

Masudur claimed that despite catching several individuals red-handed while casting fake votes and handing them over to presiding officers, no effective action was taken.

“At the Jhagrachar centre, a person was detained and handed over to the police in my presence, yet the casting of fake votes resumed shortly after,” he told reporters.

He specifically pointed to an incident at Puragar Government Primary School, alleging that an agent for the “Sheaf of Paddy” (BNP) symbol was seen stamping ballots.

Rahman claimed the presiding officer, Abul Kalam Azad, remained silent despite being informed of the matter.

The Jamaat candidate further alleged that his supporters and agents faced physical assaults and verbal abuse at several polling stations.

He also claimed that several centres, including the Sreebordi Islamia Kamil Madrasa, were forcibly occupied to cast votes for the BNP candidate.

The election for the Sherpur-3 constituency, comprising Sreebordi and Jhenaigati, was rescheduled for Apr 9 after the original Feb 12 polls were cancelled following the death of the then-Jamaat candidate, Nuruzzaman Badal.

Thursday’s race featured a three-way contest between BNP’s Mahmudul Haque Rubel, Jamaat’s Masudur, and Mizanur Rahman of Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal-Marxist.

Voting began at 7:30am but was marred by the Jamaat candidate’s mid-day withdrawal.