Video footage captured by closed-circuit cameras at the polling stations of the recent general election and referendum would be preserved at the offices of assistant returning officers.
The Election Commission has taken the decision to preserve the video footage of two days – the day before the voting and the voting day— with a view to using these as documents.
The Commission on Thursday issued the directives to the 69 returning officers -– two divisional commissioners (Dhaka and Chattogram), three regional election officers (Dhaka, Chattogram and Khulna) and 64 Districts’ deputy commissioners—to store the video footage.
The EC in a letter signed by EC Deputy Secretary Mohammad Monir Hossain asked the returning officers to preserve the video footage at the office of the assistant returning officers concerned.
The 13th parliamentary election and referendum were held at 42,659 polling stations in 299 out of 300 constituencies across the country on February 12 last. Some 90 percent of the polling stations were under CC camera surveillance.
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On February 13 last, the EC published a gazette of 297 elected MP candidates. The election results of two other constituencies – Chattogram-2 and 4-- were withheld as per the court orders. Besides, the election to Sherpur-3 was earlier cancelled following the death of a contesting candidate.
In the election, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secured 209 parliamentary seats, while Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami won 68.
Besides, National Citizen Party-NCP settled victory in six constituencies, independent candidates in seven constituencies, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish in two, Islami Andolan Bangladesh in one, Bangladesh Jatiya Party-BJP (led by Andaleeve Rahman Partho) in one, Ganaodhikar Parishad in one, Ganasamhati Andolan in one and Khelafat Majlish in one parliamentary seat.
So, the BNP-led electoral alliance sealed victory in a total of 212 constituencies, while the Jamaat-led electoral alliance won in 77 constituencies.