11-party alliance demands recount of votes in 32 seats

The 11-party alliance, led by Jamaat-e-Islami, has demanded a recount of votes in 32 constituencies from the 13th National Parliament elections.

This demand was formally presented to the Election Commission (EC) following a meeting held at the Election Building in Agargaon, Dhaka, on Sunday afternoon.

After the meeting, Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General Dr. AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad spoke to reporters, alleging that various irregularities had undermined the election's integrity.

He pointed to the use of illegal weapons—including 400 pistols still unrecovered from law enforcement agencies—black money, threats, and fake votes as factors that influenced the process.

He further claimed that election engineering had occurred, with reports of sealing against officials at some polling centers going unaddressed despite repeated complaints to the commission.

Azad also criticised the hasty publication of the election results gazette, which he said prevented many candidates from filing formal complaints in time.

He questioned the reported voter turnout, noting that some centers showed unusually high figures shortly before or immediately after polling ended at 4:30 pm.

Additionally, he accused authorities of tampering with result sheets—for instance, in Dhaka-6, where an agent's signature appeared mismatched, and results were written in pencil in places, suggesting subtle manipulation.

In light of these allegations, the alliance has called for a recount in the 32 affected constituencies along with an impartial investigation into all related complaints.

The meeting with the EC began around 11:50 am, attended by four election commissioners, senior secretary Akhtar Ahmed, and other officials.

Representing the alliance were Dr. AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad, media coordinator and assistant secretary general Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair, Barrister Nazibur Rahman Momen, Labour Party Chairman Mostafizur Rahman Iran, and other central leaders from the NCP and Jamaat.

The alliance had earlier announced the meeting in a press release on Saturday night, stating that its leaders would discuss the post-election situation and current political realities with the Chief Election Commissioner.