Three Bangladeshi-Americans fined for vote rigging in Boston

A US court has fined three people of Bangladeshi origin for election irregularities and vote rigging in the polls for the Boston-based organisation ‘Bangladesh Association of New England’.

Parveen Chowdhury, Salahuddin Khan and Tanvir Murad were ordered to pay $134,000 in penalties to cover the costs of the case by a Massachusetts court on Nov 25.

Details of the case before the Essex County Superior Court reveal that the Bangladesh Association of New England elections were held between Nov 10-11, 2023.

Mahbub-e Khoda Khoka, a presidential candidate, later filed a lawsuit, alleging fraud and irregularities in the voting process.

After reviewing the evidence, Associate Judge Kristen Buxton of Lawrence Superior Court annulled the election results on July 12, 2023. The court ordered the defendants to bear the legal costs and instructed the association's executive committee to hold fresh elections within 90 days.

Following the court order, Election Commissioner Salahuddin Khan Saikat announced a new election schedule on Aug 5, 2023.

However, when the Tanvir-Taj-Shanta panel declined to participate in the election, the commissioner declared the Khoka-Shaju-Rajib panel as the uncontested winners on Sept 27, 2023.