Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Monday said false and misleading information is being circulated in its name regarding allegations of fake votes in the 13th parliamentary election.
In a press release, the organisation said information presented at a press conference marking the release of its report titled ‘Observation of the 13th National Parliamentary Election Process and Affidavit-Based Analysis’ has been misinterpreted and wrongly disseminated, creating confusion among the public.
TIB clarified that in its field-level research, conducted through a random sampling method, data were collected from 70 selected constituencies.
Among those, information regarding incidents of one or more fake votes was found in 21.4 percent of the constituencies.
“However, interpreting this finding to mean that 21.4 percent fake votes were cast nationwide is “completely incorrect, baseless and misleading,” the TIB said.
TIB requested media outlets that have already misrepresented or incorrectly presented the information to publish appropriate corrections without delay.
Otherwise, it said, such misleading representation would be considered intentional.