The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

BNP chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia yesterday rejected the results of election on the plea that polling was rigged at many centres.

She turned the election one of the blue print and said no such instance of vote fraud was seen in the past.

Begum Zia said, the chief election commissioner deserved to the thanked for announcing, what she turned, stage-managed results which were not acceptable to the people.

This she said was the entail reaction and more will be made known after follow-up party consultation meetings.

She told a questioner that she herself was witness to absence of polling officers in some city centres right in the middle of the election day, on play of saying prayers or having lunch.

The BNP Chairperson held a marathon meeting with party standing committee members and reviewed the just concluded parliamentary polls before making the decision known minutes after midnight last night.

The BNP is yet to give its formal reactions to the poll results showing a massive defeat to its rival the Awami League.

Just after few hours of the announcement of the disastrous set back of BNP, the standing committee meeting begun at party Chairperson’s Gulshan office at about 7:00pm with Begum Zia in the chair.

BNP’s highest policy making body’s meeting was attended, among others, by former minister M Saifur Rahman, party Secretary General Khondoker Delwar Hossain, M Shamsul Islam, Chowdhury Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui, Dr RA Ghani and Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Uddin.

The meeting was continuing till filling of the report at about 11:00pm.

A huge number of party leaders and activists thronged the office and chanted slogan, “Khaleda Zia, move forward: We are with you.”

Prior to the meeting, Begum Zia came to party office at 6:30pm and appeared emotional when she waved at her party leaders and supporters from the second floor of the office.

She stood there in silence for sometime as party supporters chanted slogans.

Meanwhile, some BNP candidates including Mahbubur Rahman, former army chief and BNP candidate from Dinajpur-2 and Khairul Kabir Khokon from Narshingdi-1 constituency rejected the election results of their respective constituencies brining allegations of blatant interference of the local administration in the polls.

They demanded cancellation of the election and holding fresh polls in their respective constituencies.

“The election was neither free nor fair. Had the election been free and fair, I would’ve won it,” Mahbub Rahman told reporters at a press conference yesterday.

He demanded investigation into the allegations he brought about.