It has been revealed that over 2 million fraudulent votes were cast in the names of deceased individuals during the three national elections held under the Sheikh Hasina government. These fraudulent voting opportunities were facilitated by three Awami League-backed election commissions.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) A.M.M. Nasiruddin recently confirmed this information to journalists at an event, expressing his regret.
Sources indicate that over 120 million voters, including 45 million new voters, were unable to cast their votes in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth national elections, leading to widespread controversy and allegations of "sham" elections. Voters from older lists also expressed their disappointment at being unable to exercise their franchise.
However, the current Election Commission (EC) hopes to rectify this situation in the upcoming elections. The EC states that "both new and old voters will be able to vote for their preferred candidates this time." This statement has raised hopes among voters of all ages.
In the past three elections, the presence of living voters was notably low. However, Awami League activists and their allies were actively involved in casting votes on behalf of deceased individuals. This was made possible by the three Awami League-backed commissions, which failed to remove deceased individuals from the voter list, numbering over 2 million.
The voter list has now been updated nationwide, and the Election Commission is in the process of removing a significant number of deceased voters identified during the update.
Regarding this issue, CEC A.M.M. Nasiruddin stated, "They were voters residing in their graves. They came from the grave to vote. The number of deceased voters was beyond our imagination. It exceeds 2 million."
Dr. Tofayel Ahmed, convener of the Local Govt Reform Commission and an election expert, said, "The past three elections were a farce. That's why people were not interested in voting. However, after various reforms and updates to the election system, with a new and accurate voter list, it is hoped that people will go to the polling stations. The voting will be festive."
