Vote recount demand sparks tension in Rangpur, DC office surrounded

BNP leaders and activists have held protest rallies and besieged the Deputy Commissioner's office in Rangpur, rejecting the announced results for the Rangpur-3, 4 and 6 constituencies and demanding a vote recount. Several thousand leaders and activists staged a sit-in in front of the DC office from Sunday morning until 2 pm on February 15.

Protesters alleged that their victory had been snatched away through 'election engineering'. They demanded the results be cancelled and votes recounted, raising various slogans criticising the DC's role.

Rangpur District BNP Convener Saiful Islam, Metropolitan BNP Convener Shamsuzzaman Samu and Rangpur-4 candidate Emdadul Haque Bhorasha spoke at the rally. Earlier on Saturday, they had blocked the Rangpur-Kurigram highway with a 24-hour ultimatum demanding the same.

Rangpur-6 candidate Saiful Islam alleged that results had been influenced with administrative assistance. Rangpur-3 candidate Shamsuzzaman Samu claimed results in three constituencies had been altered through administrative interference. Rangpur-4 candidate Emdadul Haque Bhorasha said he would accept whatever result comes through a recount.

District Commissioner and Returning Officer Mohammad Enamul Ahsan said centre-wise results were coordinated at the Assistant Returning Officer's office and sent to the DC office through a software-based system. The gazette was published after scrutinising results from all centres. He also informed that the applications for recount from candidates of the three constituencies had been accepted and forwarded to the Election Commission Secretariat.

According to announced results, in Rangpur-3 (Sadar) constituency, Jamaat candidate Mahbubar Rahman Belal was elected with 1,78,064 votes. His nearest rival, BNP's Shamsuzzaman Samu, received 85,498 votes. Jatiya Party's GM Quader came third with 43,790 votes.

In Rangpur-4, National Citizen Party Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain won with 1,49,966 votes. BNP's Emdadul Haque Bhorasha received 1,40,564 votes.

In Rangpur-6, Jamaat's Nurul Amin was elected with 1,20,128 votes. BNP's Saiful Islam received 1,17,703 votes. The Jatiya Party candidate's deposit was forfeited in this constituency, having received only 1,287 votes.

Those concerned are now awaiting the Election Commission's decision regarding the applications for vote recounts.