Former Bangladesh cricket captain Tamim Iqbal has strongly criticized the recently concluded Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) election, calling it unfair and “not an election at all.” Tamim made the remarks at a press conference held on Wednesday (October 8) at the Lakeshore Hotel in Dhaka, organized by the Club Organizers Association.
Several cricket organizers from Dhaka and other regions were present at the event, where they also announced a boycott of all cricket activities under the BCB, including Dhaka leagues, divisional and district-level tournaments.
Tamim said, “Let me make it clear—I don’t consider this an election. The way things happened makes it impossible to call it one. For instance, I was abroad and applied to cast my vote electronically. Later, I saw in the media that my vote had already been cast. Thinking it might be a misunderstanding, I posted a clarification on Facebook and emailed the Election Commission. They informed me yesterday (Tuesday) that my vote was never actually cast.”
He raised further concerns about irregularities, saying, “If I’m not mistaken, there were 42 or 43 total votes cast, and 34 of them were e-votes. The e-voting system is meant for those who can’t be physically present at the polling center. But all 34 individuals who used e-voting were present at the center that day. Twelve of the elected directors cast e-votes themselves. What’s the motive behind this? If you’re at the polling center from morning till evening, why do you need to cast an e-vote?”
Tamim also claimed he had no doubts about his popularity among voters had he chosen to contest. “I’m confident that if I had contested, I would have won easily. I know which clubs support me and which don’t. My concern wasn’t winning—it was about having a transparent election. That was my only stand,” he said.
Meanwhile, Masuduzzaman, a councilor of Mohammedan Sporting Club, alleged massive irregularities during the October 6 election. “The election was a complete farce. We reject it outright. We don’t accept Aminul Islam Bulbul as the newly elected president. Since the spirit of cricket has been destroyed, we’ve decided to boycott all cricketing activities—from the Premier Division to grassroots levels—until further notice,” he declared.
