Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Sujan) expressed guarded optimism that the Bangladesh Election Commission (EC) would investigate allegations relating to loan defaulters and dual citizenship, while observing that the 13th National Parliament election was overall "transparent, free from manipulation and credible."
The assessment was presented at a press conference titled Sujan's Perspective on the 13th National Parliament Election and Referendum 2026, held at the National Press Club on Wednesday.
Delivering the written statement, central committee member Ekram Hossain said, "Compara-tive stability was observed in various stages of participation, contestation, voting and declaration of results on February 12," adding that the poll was "partially able to achieve acceptance," though "a more detailed review is needed for a full assessment."
He said there was hope that the election was relatively peaceful and remarked that post-poll engagement between rival camps - including meetings between leaders of the winning and losing parties and congratulatory exchanges - "seemed to be a harbinger of the development of a new political culture."
However, he cautioned that disputes between winners and losers over whether to take the oath of office of the Constitutional Reform Council, along with the boycott of the cabinet oath-taking ceremony by parties belonging to the 11-party alliance, had "given rise to new fears," adding, "we hope that the crisis will be over soon and we will all join the democratic journey together."
Addressing electoral administration and tabulation integrity, he said the February 12 results were announced in stages after vote counting. Although no major irregularities were widely reported, delays in counting were observed in several important and closely contested constituencies, including in Dhaka. He also referred to allegations such as tampering with centre-based result reports, obtaining advance signatures from agents, and sending or receiving unsigned centre result sheets.
He noted that the 11-party alliance led by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami had raised these complaints with the EC and the media and demanded recounts in 30 seats. "It does not appear to us that the election was able to maintain the desired level of transparency by this standard," he said.
At the same briefing, SUJON Secretary Badiul Alam Majumder said, "The elections were held fairly peacefully. All parties have accepted the results. We had previously raised questions about defaulters and dual citizenship. If the commission had included our recommendations in the law, these problems could have been avoided."
He added, "The people have given their verdict for the legal basis of the July Charter," and said complications arose due to "BNP's failure to reform the oath," although "the ruling party has said that they are committed to implementing the July Charter," indicating an evolving post-election constitutional and political negotiation process within the democratic framework.
