Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami has accused election officials of irregularities that it says cost its alliance candidates narrow defeats in the February 12 national polls, and is pursuing legal remedies rather than mass street action for now. The party, described in reports as an Islamist force, has filed formal complaints and called for recounts and court reviews while urging the Election Commission to address alleged malpractice.
Jamaat’s complaints list several specific irregularities, including delayed transmission of results, missing signatures from polling agents on tally sheets, what it alleges are forged endorsements, and instances where tallies appeared to have been marked in pencil rather than ink. The party says these problems affected closely contested seats across multiple constituencies.
Leading an 11-party alliance, Jamaat has petitioned the Election Commission for vote recounts in 32 constituencies and says alliance candidates have challenged outcomes in court in at least 13 of those seats. “In the post-election political landscape, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has adopted several strategies to keep the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government under pressure,” a report in Prothom Alo quoted.
Jamaat has told supporters it will rely primarily on legal channels at this stage and will refrain from large-scale field mobilisation while cases are pending. Party leaders say they prefer institutional remedies to avoid immediate unrest, though they have signalled readiness to escalate if complaints are not properly addressed.
The party has also demanded scrutiny of two former advisers to the interim government, Syeda Rizwana Hasan and Khalilur Rahman, calling for their questioning and potential legal accountability over alleged roles in the post-election process, according to the report.
Official results from the 13th national parliamentary elections gave the BNP an absolute majority, with 209 seats won outright and 212 including its coalition partners, while Jamaat secured 68 seats independently and 77 within its alliance, figures reported by IANS show. The party’s legal challenges now set the stage for further judicial review and political tension as the new government settles in.
Original Source: https://www.sentinelassam.com/more-news/international/bangladesh-jamaat-e-islami-alleges-electoral-irregularities-in-february-elections
Category: International News
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Publish Date: 2026-03-26 15:35:00
