Advisor to the BNP Chairman and spokesperson for the Election Steering Committee Mahdi Amin. File photo

DHAKA, Jan 15, 2026 (BSS)- Advisor to the BNP Chairman and spokesperson for the Election Steering Committee Mahdi Amin today said the level playing field is being destroyed in various ways, and a controversial election process is about to be created.

He said, "People expect that in the highly significant upcoming election, public aspirations will be reflected, and every political party will get an equal opportunity through a level playing field. However, over the past few days, we have sadly observed that the level playing field is being destroyed in various ways, and a controversial election process is about to be created."

Mahdi Amin said this at a press conference at the party's election office in Gulshan this afternoon. 

He said that a particular political party is persistently misusing religious sentiments to serve its own interests.

Mahdi Amin said, "we have seen in the media that people are being made to swear on the Holy Quran to vote for their symbol, which is a direct violation of the electoral code of conduct. Not only that, we have seen that particular political party going door-to-door collecting people's national identity cards and Bkash numbers, which has a malicious intent behind it."

Regarding postal ballots, he said it had previously gone viral on social media that in several Middle Eastern countries, such as Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, hundreds of ballots are in the possession of workers of a specific party, which has created widespread controversy. Because, bloc voting is completely illegal.

Furthermore, in some places, postal ballot papers are being collected using one person's number for another, which is unexpected. Since expatriate voting is being held for the first time in Bangladesh, we want equality and fairness to be ensured in expatriate voting as well. It is worth noting that BNP was the first to commit to establishing voting rights for expatriates. 

This advisor to the BNP Chairman said, "We have sadly noticed that in the case of postal ballots, the position of the 'paddy sheaf' symbol is towards the bottom, making it difficult to find. Even when folded, the 'paddy sheaf' symbol is not visible or can be erased due to folding marks. On the other hand, the symbols of rival political parties have been strategically placed in positions where they are easily visible. By simply rearranging the number of columns or lines, this positional discrimination could have been eliminated, keeping the postal ballots transparent." 

Mahdi Amin said during the 16 years of the fascist era of enforced disappearances, killings, attacks, and cases, a few BNP candidates were abroad. Naturally, they obtained citizenship there, and as soon as their nomination was confirmed, they applied to renounce their citizenship. Despite having those application documents, attempts are being made to create complications regarding dual citizenship at the Election Commission. However, according to Article 66 of the Constitution, there is no room for any unnecessary debate on this.

Pointing out that the electoral environment is being disrupted, Mahdi said several political parties are directly asking for votes for their respective candidates and parties with their symbols through various programs and online. However, when BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman planned to visit his grandmother's grave, as well as the graves of Maulana Bhasani, the Mass Uprising martyr Abu Saeed, and other martyrs in Bogura and several districts of North Bengal, the Election Commission requested him to postpone this personal and religious visit. While he cancelled his scheduled visit respecting that request, other parties and leaders are continuously violating the code of conduct. This indifference of the Election Commission is unexpected. 

Regarding Tarique Rahman's daughter's Facebook account, he said, Barrister Zaima Rahman's Facebook and Instagram accounts were recently verified by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. Besides these two social media handles with a blue tick, she has no other official social media accounts.

Over 50 fake accounts and pages have been removed by BNP's ICT cell, from which deepfake and AI-generated videos were being posted to spread misinformation. Some IDs and pages still remain; communication with Meta authorities is ongoing for their removal.

Mahdi said many fake Facebook pages have also been opened in the name of BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman's wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman. Fabricated and false videos created using AI are being spread on these pages. "We confirm that Dr Zubaida Rahman does not have any social media account or page. Therefore, we request everyone not to be misled," he added. 

He said aiming to build engagement with the masses during the election, BNP has already launched a call center. Anyone can call 16543 for inquiries, necessary information, advice, complaints, or to share opinions on any matter.

We have started the "Match My Policy" initiative to build public opinion and receive constructive criticism on various policies formulated by the BNP. The link to that website is: https://www.matchmypolicy.net/

Mahdi Amin informed at the press conference that Tarique Rahman will begin his formal election campaign through his Sylhet visit on January 22. Details will be provided later.

He further said that in line with how his party took a stand for reforms with utmost sincerity and seriousness in the National Consensus Commission, and as the political party that is the bearer, carrier, and originator of reforms in Bangladesh's history, BNP is taking a stand in favour of 'Yes' in the referendum according to our position and the submitted Note of Dissent in the July Charter, which has already been communicated by the party's top leadership.