Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia who lost Monday's parliament election said Tuesday midnight that the election results are not acceptable to her party.
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Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia talks to journalists in Dhaka December 30, 2008. [Xinhuanet.com] |
In a brief statement to the press after a meeting of the BNP standing committee, she said, "The blueprint about which we had been saying earlier, came into reality through the election results."
Khaleda said it is noticeable that there are some leaders of her party who have been elected time and again in the past with big margin are on the list of losers.
"It is noticeable that 45 to 50 percent votes were cast by 12 noon and thereafter most of the polling centers were seen empty. But it was shown that about 90 percent votes were cast at those centers," she said, adding it was never ever seen such "grand forgery of votes" in the past.
She claimed that they have evidence too about how rigging took place. Khaleda said she herself visited many centers in the capital and found some centers without election officials. On her query, those who were present told that those officials went for saying prayers or lunch. Then she told them that there is no break for prayer or lunch during the polling hours.
The BNP chief said, "I like to tell with regret that despite our all efforts to switch over to democracy, the election commission has proved that this election has no acceptability by announcing the pre-fixed results of the elections."
"Therefore, this election has not reflected the will of the people," Khaleda said, adding under this circumstances this farcical election is not acceptable to BNP.
According to the Election Commission, Bangladesh's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League won 229 seats out of the 295 seats which have got the polls results. BNP got only 27 seats.
The results for another four seats are still not available.
A total of 1,555 candidates from 39 parties and independents contested 299 seats out of the 300 seats of Parliament in Monday's elections. The election for another seat will be held on Jan. 12, next year due to the death of a candidate.
(Xinhua News Agency December 31, 2008)