Bangladesh Cricket Board Election Scandal (Screengrab/X) A government-appointed inquiry committee in Bangladesh has uncovered widespread irregularities, including vote manipulation, coercion and bias, in the October 2025 Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) elections. The five-member panel headed by former judge AKM Asaduzzaman submitted its report to the sports ministry on Sunday. According to ESPNcricinfo, the election process was neither free nor transparent, with evidence of voter intimidation and procedural violations.The committee also noted repeated non-cooperation from top BCB officials during the investigation. Former BCB president Aminul Islam refused to attend the personal hearing, instead sending a written response. Despite this, the panel concluded that both BCB officials and individuals within the Ministry of Sports were involved in manipulating the election process.The government proceeded to dissolve the BCB boardNational Sports Council (NSC) Sports Director Mohammed Aminul Ahesan outlined key findings of the report at a press conference on Tuesday, saying the election lacked fairness and integrity. “The electoral process was not free, fair or transparent. Voters were intimidated and procedural irregularities were the order of the day.”Ahesan said the government had sufficient reasons to dissolve the BCB board led by Aminul. At the end of his press conference, he announced the 11 members of a new ad hoc committee that will oversee the BCB for the next three months. Tamim Iqbal, the former Bangladesh captain who accused Aminul of abusing his powers as BCB president just four weeks before last year’s election, has been appointed as the new BCB president. “On March 10, 2026, Mr. Shariful Alam and another former councilor filed a complaint against the District and Divisional Sports Associations. The subject of the complaint was the deadline for submission of names of councilors from this category. Letters were sent to the concerned authorities on September 1 and 2 that the deadline for submission would be September 17. The BCB extended this deadline to September 19 and then believed that the deadline was extended to September 2. September for no reason, to replace previously nominated councilors with favored individuals and create opportunities for them to be elected as directors,” said Ahesan. Allegations of abuse of power and manipulation “Also, as per Article 9.3.3 of the BCB Constitution, the President has no power to unilaterally nominate 10 former cricketers as members of the Board. Therefore, Mr. Aminul Islam Bulbul as the President of BCB has acted beyond his authority by unilaterally nominating 10 former cricketers as members of the Board. This is a clear violation of Mr. BCB’s authority as found by the BCB Committee. Bulbul’s unilateral nomination of 10 former cricketers had a significant impact on the election process because since benefited these councilors and potentially influenced the outcome of the election,” the report added. Electronic voting under controlSerious concerns were also raised regarding the electronic voting process. According to the report, Aminul and officials from the NSC were found to have manipulated the electronic voting process, a conclusion supported by interviews with voters who describe the system as “premeditated”. “The committee found that e-voting was conducted from a specific location and confidentiality of voting was not maintained, which is against the basic democratic principles and constitution of BCB,” the report said. “A majority of these voters were again present at the polling station on the day of the physical voting of e-voters. Although there was an option to vote directly, the e-voting was conducted by gathering at one place at the Sheraton Hotel in the capital on the night of October 5 (Oct. 5) and the process appeared to the committee to be vote manipulation.”
