The Election Commission (EC) has announced January 9 as the fresh date for repolling in the three suspended centres under the Brahmanbaria-2 constituency. EC sources said the polling in the three centres had been suspended due to widespread irregularities at the time of voting on December 30. The suspended centres are: the Jatrapur Government Primary School, Bahadurpur Government Primary School and the Sohagpur Dakkhin Government Primary School.

The EC announced the final results of 289, out of a total of 299, constituencies, but withheld the final result of Brahmanbaria-2 due to the irregularities. As per provision 25 (2) of the Representation of the People Order, 1972, where a poll has been stopped under Clause (1), the returning officer shall immediately report the circumstances to the commission, which would direct a fresh poll at that polling station, unless it is satisfied that the result of the election has been determined by the polling station, taken with the results of the polling at other polling stations in the same constituency.

The EC issued a letter signed by Forhad Ahmad Khan, joint secretary of the commission, on January 1, directing the holding of fresh polls at the three centres on January 9. The total votes of these three centres was 10,574, and the difference between the two main contestants was 10,159.

As per the suspended results, BNP-nominated candidate Abdus Sattar bagged a total of 82,723 votes, while his nearest rival, an independent candidate, got 72,564 votes.

Earlier, on December 30, EC secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed told journalists that the result of the Brahmanbaria-2 was withheld as the difference of votes between the highest and the nearest candidates is less compared to the total votes of the three centres.  So, a fresh election is necessary for the final result, he added.

The EC also stopped polling in 16 centres in 16 constituencies because of irregularities. But the commission, in a letter yesterday, said it would not hold fresh polls to these centres as the difference of votes was huge between the winning candidate and the nearest ones.

The centres were under the Rangpur-2, Chapainawabganj-1, Sherpur-1, Narsingdi-3, Brahmanbaria-1, Brahmanbaria-3, Cumilla-1, Cumilla-7, Cumilla-8, Cumilla-10, Chandpur-5, Noakhali-1, Noakhali-3, Sunamganj-3, Sunamganj-5 and Chattogram-10 constituencies.

Meanwhile, the election in the Gaibandha-3 constituency was cancelled because of the death of Dr ATM Fazle Rabbi, the candidate of the BNP-led 20-Party Alliance, on December 20.

The commission, on December 23, had announced January 27 as a fresh date for polling in Gaibandha-2. The last date of submission of nomination papers is set as January 2. The scrutiny of nomination papers will be performed on January 3 and the withdrawal of candidature would be on January 10. Commission sources said the contesting candidates whose names were already on the list need not to submit new nomination papers and security money.