The preferred candidate of the Election Commission has been included in the ‘A’ panel on the ballot paper
Staff Reporter:The Election Commission of Bangladesh Society in New York, USA has been accused of massive irregularities. Notable among which are bias, arbitrariness and irregularity. The Election Commission is openly working to win over the candidates of their choice. It has been alleged that the President of a Parishad very cleverly changed the first name of the candidate by filling in the form called Affidavit of the Election Commission for inclusion in the ‘A’ panel only on the ballot paper.
According to a reliable source, the election of Bangladesh Society, the largest social organization in New York, will be held on Sunday, November 14. Two independent candidates, including Nayan-Ali and Rab-Ruhul, are contesting in the upcoming elections. Apart from the two Parishad, independent candidates Zainul Abedin and Abdul Momen are contesting for the post of president and independent general secretary respectively. A total of 38 candidates are contesting for 19 posts. Of these, 17 are in Nayan-Ali Parishad and 19 in Rab-Ruhul Parishad. Independent General Secretary candidate Abdul Momen has not been seen in public in New York since the nomination papers were submitted. Voting will take place in 5 centers in New York City. Despite fears of fierce competition between the two councils in this election, the Election Commission is desperate to win their nominees in the open bias.
The name inscribed in the voter list of Bangladesh Society is Md. Rab Mia
According to the source, the real name of the presidential candidate of Rob-Ruhul Parishad who participated in the election is Md. Rab Mia. His voter number is 17885 in the voter list of Bangladesh Society. In the last 2015-2017 election of the executive council of The Greater Noakhali Society in the United States, he contested under the name of Md. Rab Mia.
SM Jamal U Ahmed Jony Chairman of Election Commission, Bangladesh Society, has changed the name of his favorite candidate on the ballot paper to ‘A’ panel by filling in the affidavit form of Election Commission. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. Attempts were made to contact Election Commission Chairman SM Jamal U Ahmed Jony and Election Commissioner Mohammad A Hakim Miah several times to find out the matter, but none of them was found.
Participated in the election of Noakhali Society named Md. Rab Mia
It is learned that Kazi Ashraf Hossain alias Kazi Nayan, the presidential candidate of Nayan-Ali Parishad, who is participating in the election, has recently lodged a complaint with the chairman of the Election Commission. In the chargesheet, he demanded cancellation of the candidature of Abdur Rab Miah, the presidential candidate of Rab-Ruhul Parishad.
In the chargesheet sent to the chairman of the Election Commission, Kazi Ashraf Hossain Nayan mentioned that Abdur Rab Mia, the presidential candidate in the upcoming 2019-20 elections of the Bangladesh Society, had failed to get the membership of the society. But for some unknown reason, Abdur Rab Mia has been campaigning for the last three and a half months by printing leaflets, posters and banners for the Rab-Ruhul Parishad.
Chairman of the Election Commission SM Jamal U Ahmed Jony attended the meeting of the Parishad of choice
He mentioned in the letter that the Election Commission had distributed ballot papers in the name of Abdur Rab Mia on October 10. On behalf of the Nayan-Ali Parishad in the forthcoming elections, he disqualified the failed candidate for the membership of the Bangladesh Society and called upon the Election Commission to co-operate with the general members of the society with new ballot papers.
In the letter, Kazi Nayan mentioned changes in the voting system. He wrote, “Allow the entire panel to vote by pressing a button in a panel-based selection and confirm the vote by placing the ‘Enter’ or ‘Confirmation’ buttons at the end of the screen.” Voters will benefit if the word ‘abstain’ is removed from the title on the next page. Lastly, give the voters a chance to change their minds by using the word ‘change’ instead of the current word ‘confirm’.
Kazi Ashraf Hossain Nayan told US media Bangla Press that there is no voter named Abdur Rab Mia in the voter list of Bangladesh Society. So how did Abdur Rab Mia become a candidate? Therefore, I have applied to cancel his candidature.
Rob-Ruhul panel’s presidential candidate Md. Rab Mia told the media in this regard, if not a member, how did I become a candidate? He said that he has become a candidate in the election by following all the rules.
SM Jamal U Ahmed Jony, Chairman of the Election Commission, is busy sitting in the office of the Parisha of Preference
However, Election Commission Chairman SM Jamal Ahmed Jony has explained the matter differently. He told the Bengali media that he had received a letter from Kazi Nayan. If the matter mentioned in the letter is a complaint, then he is also accused in the same charge. But we are not taking this allegation seriously. Because Abdur Rab Mia informed the Election Commission through an affidavit that his name is Md. Rab Mia. But he is known in the community as Abdur Rab Mia. Similarly, Kazi Ashraf Hossain Nayan has also stated in an affidavit that he wants to be elected as Kazi Nayan. This is a valid process. For this reason, I am not taking cognizance of the matter. He noted that a bill was recently passed in the New York State Legislature that would allow candidates to use their nicknames or familiar names on the ballot. Abdur Rab Mia has taken the name of Md. Rab Mia by filling the affidavit form of the Election Commission in this year’s society election. If everyone in the community knows Md. Rab Mia as Abdur Rab Mia, then the chairman of the Election Commission SM Jamal Ahmed Jony could not give a correct answer as to why he contested under the name of Md. Rab Mia in the election of the executive council of The Greater Noakhali Society a few years ago.
Regarding the change in the voting system in the election, Jamal Ahmed Jony said that all the voting methods in the election are final. Here the interests of the voters have been given priority. There is no chance to change anything.
According to the constitution of the Bangladesh Society, any candidate can get the approval of the Election Commission to use their nickname only for campaigning by filling up a specific form. In that case, the presidential candidate Md. Rab Mia is Abdur Rab Mia and the other candidate Kazi Ashraf Hossain Nayan is Kazi Nayan. In case of publication of name on ballot paper, first or last name should be sorted with initials. In every election in the history of the society, the ballot paper is published with the first initials of the last name. The only exception is this time. This time Election Commission Chairman SM Jamal U Ahmed Jony had planned to make ballot papers with the initials of the first names of the candidates. The motive behind this was to make his nominee presidential candidate Md. Rab Mia Abdur Rab Mia and include his name in the ‘A’ panel in the ballot paper. He showed thumbs up to all the methods and without considering the initials of the first or last name, he deliberately included the name of his nominated presidential candidate Md. Rab Mia in the ‘A’ panel in the ballot paper. He is known to have been the chief consultant in making Abdur Rab Mia by changing the first name of Md. Rab.
According to the source, in a country like the United States, to add or subtract any part of one’s name, one has to apply to the Probate Court by paying the required fee. The name can never be changed voluntarily or by anyone without the permission of a wise judge. It is a punishable offense.
Meanwhile, Nayan-Ali has succeeded in removing two members of the council from the polls for no reason and trying to impose the misdeeds of the Election Commission on others. Despite the lifting of the stay order from the court on January 8 last year, the chairman of the Election Commission, SM Jamal U Ahmed, has deceived the expatriates in various ways by saying that he could not vote due to the Jony case. He never made excuses for the epidemic. There is no record of him ever doing a good deed. He pretended not to know that the court had not kept the case in the documents for the last five months and that the case had no effect. Jamal U Ahmed Jony has made the society face huge losses by wasting time by showing various excuses.
On the other hand, according to the constitution, if any member of a council dies, if there is no other candidate for the post, then the opposite party has to be declared elected without contest. Which is completely unconstitutional.
Election Commission Chairman SM Jamal U Ahmed Jony has completely failed to maintain neutrality. He has been accused of acting as an agent of the Rab-Ruhul Parishad. Nayan-Ali was desperate to field two new candidates in place of the two dead in the parishad. Which the Election Commissioner did not hesitate to blackmail the people of the old leadership. In other words, he gave the green signal to the other panel to bring new people in their place without declaring the candidates of Nayan-Ali Parishad elected. He said two legitimate members of the council could not take part as they did not have permission from the court.
It is to be noted that the biennial election of Bangladesh Society was to be held on 21st October 2018. However, due to the unpleasant situation created by the cancellation of the nomination of two members of a panel by the Election Commission, the much-discussed election of the Bangladesh Society, which was postponed due to a case, will be held on Sunday, November 14. Polling stations in the Bronx, Woodside, Jamaica, Ozonepark and Brooklyn have been finalized.
Before the election, some people are preparing to file a case alleging irregularities and damage to their interests. We will have to wait till November 13 to decide whether there is a case in the end or whether the election of Bangladesh Society will be held again due to legal complications. This fear remains until the day before the election. Until the election begins and ends, it cannot be said that the election is over. Another source said that there could be a case even after the election.
The source said that after the election is over, even after announcing the names of the winners, if anyone thinks that he has been deprived, then he has a chance to sue. In that case new complications may arise. Such fears are also present in the Election Commission. Even after that, keeping in mind the fear of the case, just as the candidates are participating, the commission is also organizing the election.
BP/SM
