BCB polls: Bulbul, Fahim set to run uncontested as Fuad withdraws

Seasoned organiser Abdullah Al Fuad Redwan, a councillor from Dhaka Division, has withdrawn his name from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) elections, claiming a lack of transparency. His withdrawal means that both BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul and vice-president Nazmul Abedeen Fahim will run the election on October 6 uncontested.

Fuad had submitted his nomination form from Jamalpur District Sports Association under Dhaka Division and was set to contest against Bulbul and Fahim.

His nomination was initially rejected by the Election Commission owing to some issues over the signature of his supporting councillor. Later, Fuad's nomination was accepted by the EC after validation of the signature.

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"My candidacy was cancelled. I reinstated it with great difficulty. I wanted a transparent and fair election, an election in which I can participate," Fuad told the media today at the BCB premises.

"You can read the reports in newspapers today. The headlines say, "BCB Election successfully completed." The election is over before it even happened. According to the election schedule, e-ballots and postal ballots were supposed to be given on the 1st. I tried to meet the Election Commissioners many times, but they did not meet me," he said.

"I have not yet received the phone numbers of four councillors. The BCB did not give them to me. Four councillors. So, how will I vote? The vote is not transparent," he added.

Fuad said that neither of the two candidates from Dhaka was involved in the Divisional and District sports bodies before, and only came into the ad-hoc committee recently.

"Mr. Aminul Islam Bulbul. It was not right for him to be a candidate from the Dhaka Divisional Cricket Association. He was never a member of any district associations in the Dhaka Division. He never worked with cricket in any district. Similarly, Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, I want to know when, at what time, in which upazila, in which part of Dhaka, he was a member of the Dhaka District Sports Association, and what game he managed?" he asked.

Fuad claimed that a councillor told him that he would vote wherever the ministry wants him to.

"Even today, I could not reach the voter from Gopalganj over phone. I went to Gopalganj early in the morning, to his house, to ask him for his vote. He was also scared, saying, 'How can I give you the vote? My vote is with the ministry. I will vote the way the ministry tells me.' So, where is the election? The Ministry of Youth and Sports, Aminul, Fahim of the cricket board, plus the Election Commission -- they have woven a garland without a thread. That garland will never be put around my neck. Therefore, I am withdrawing from these non-transparent elections," he said.

However, as October 1 was the last day of withdrawing nominations, Fuad's name will still appear on the ballot paper.