Bangladesh Awami League President Sheikh Hasina formally questioned the legitimacy of the February 12 election, calling the event a “shameful chapter” for the nation’s democracy.
In a statement regarding the conduct of public opinion polls, the former Prime Minister objected to widespread administrative manipulation and numerical fraud, and claimed that the figures reported did not reflect the reality of public participation.
Sheikh Hasina highlighted the significant discrepancy between the silent polling stations and the final statistics provided by the Election Commission.
“Voters were absent from the polling stations, yet the votes appeared at the counting tables!” statement read.
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The Awami League leader pointed to “highly inconsistent and unrealistic patterns” in the data, noting that while only 14.96 percent of votes had been cast by 11:00 am, the number had increased to 32.88 percent by noon.
The statement claimed that this surge meant a rate of approximately 381,339 votes per minute across the country.
This would mean that a vote was cast every 5.16 seconds at each polling station, which the party described as almost impossible, given that media reports estimated it took an individual 1.5 to 3 minutes to cast a vote.
The final reported voter turnout of 59.44 percent was further questioned as “unrealistic” when compared to a specific demographic of voters.
The statement said only 3 percent of eligible prison voters and 7 percent of overseas voters reportedly cast their ballots.
In addition, the Awami League alleged that state funds were used to influence the referendum held on the same day, citing the use of specific markings on the ballot papers and the absence of signatures from anyone other than the presiding officers on the result sheets.
There were also reports of irregularities the day before the election, including allegations of ballot theft, pre-signing of results sheets and cases where voters discovered their votes had already been recorded.
The statement suggests that the delay in announcing the results of the referendum compared to the results of the national election created a public perception of fraud.
The Awami League president claimed that the elections had deepened political uncertainty and disillusionment rather than restoring democracy.
The party, which advocated a peaceful boycott of the elections, has now called for the cancellation of the elections and the resignation of Muhammad Yunus.
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Other demands include withdrawal of cases against political prisoners, lifting of restrictions on Awami League activities and restoration of voting rights through free and fair elections conducted under a neutral interim government.
The statement concluded with a warning that the results of such a controversial process would not bring stability to the country.