No violence, but not fair: Jamaat leader Azad on national election

Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad today said although the 13th National Parliamentary Election saw no violence, it cannot be termed a “fair election”.

“The qualitative change this time is that we did not see violence at polling centres. I even said this at the Election Commission’s (EC) meeting the day after the election. Everything looks fine outside, while inside it is chaotic,” he added.

He made the remarks while speaking at the inauguration programme of the newly elected committee of the Reporters Forum for Election and Democracy (RFED) and the farewell of the outgoing committee at the Election Training Institute in Dhaka’s Agargaon in the afternoon.

Azad noted that in the February election, voters did cast ballots and first-time voters were able to exercise their franchise.

“But if we do not point out the flaws, it will be hiding the truth. We gave our observations from the field. If a special intelligence agency monitored the election, they would have seen the same.”

“There were some qualitative developments, but broadly we cannot call it a fair election,” he added.

He alleged that despite press briefings, no corrective steps were taken.

“Those involved in the total election process were part of this. At the policy level, the EC maintained transparency, and the nation will appreciate that. But inside the process, transparency was not maintained. Black money is a crime under the law, yet those within your chain of command were also complicit,” he said.

He further said, “I can testify. I have filed cases. I will present statements and documents in court.”

Calling for non-interference in upcoming local government polls, Azad said, “Even if there were deviations this time, the local government election should at least be festive, unlike the national election. That is our expectation.”

He warned against a repeat of “bloodshed and clashes like those during Sheikh Hasina’s fascist era,” urging that government interference be avoided. “From now on, the task is to ensure an election free from such intervention.”

Reflecting on Bangladesh’s electoral history, he said, “It is very unfortunate. We had high hopes for the 13th National Election. But did we really get that election? The question still lingers.”