Bobby Hajjaj alleges voter list discrepancies, long queues

Bobby Hajjaj, BNP-nominated candidate for the Dhaka-13 constituency, has alleged that many voters are having to return without casting their votes even after queuing up.

He said many voters are unable to find their names due to discrepancies between the voter lists held by presiding officers and returning officers and those held by polling agents. This is causing extreme suffering for voters.

Bobby Hajjaj made these allegations while speaking to journalists after visiting the Mohammadpur Government Physical Education College centre at 9:40 am on Thursday, February 12.

He said, "Voter information obtained from the Election Commission's online database does not match the registers of polling officers at the centre. Discrepancies are also being found with the printed lists held by our polling agents."

Bobby Hajjaj informed that he had visited seven centres prior and found such irregularities in almost every centre. Sharing one experience, he said a voter's name was found at a centre only after speaking at length with the returning officer and searching again using name, date of birth and address. However, he claimed many voters left without waiting for long periods.

Bobby Hajjaj expressed concern that these discrepancies in the voter list could call the electoral process into question. He urged the returning officer to issue clear instructions so that presiding officers take time to assist voters wherever discrepancies are found.

However, the candidate expressed satisfaction over the law and order situation in the constituency. He said although attempts were made to create unpleasant situations at several centres last night, law enforcement and defence forces handled them efficiently. He demanded an investigation into who made these attempts.

On accepting the results if the election is fair, Bobby Hajjaj said if voters can cast their votes spontaneously and everything is conducted fairly in the presence of polling agents, then it is everyone's responsibility to democratically accept the result. While no situation like centre-grabbing or violence has been seen so far, he expressed concern over the voter database discrepancies.