SCBA polls: Vote count halted amidst clashes, violence

The counting of ballots for the 2024-25 session of the Supreme Court Bar Association election remains halted a day after voting concluded, due to violent disruptions and turmoil among the lawyers vying for positions.

Despite repeated calls to address the issue of vote counting, the head of the election management committee remained unavailable.

However, committee member Iqbal Karim stated, "We have not yet counted the votes."

Meanwhile, rumours circulated on social media that the committee head prematurely declared a winner for the secretary position without a vote count, a claim Iqbal Karim later dismissed as "mere rumors on Facebook."

The voting process ended at 5:00pm on Thursday, with the expectation that results would be announced later that evening. However, disturbances throughout the night, including a scuffle that injured several lawyers, delayed the process, said the lawyers present at the Supreme Court premises.

"We were all waiting to count the votes when we heard outsiders had entered and made it impossible to proceed with the count. They attacked lawyers and demanded a winner be declared. Under pressure, a winner was announced," explained Shah Manjurul Haq, a pro-Awami League secretary candidate.

Speaking with several lawyers present at the scene, our correspondent learned that after two days of voting, the ballot boxes were opened around 11pm last night and the ballots were then sorted for counting for several hours.

According to the SC lawyers, the pro-BNP panel's secretary candidate Barrister Ruhul Kuddus Kajal and independent secretary candidate Nahid Sultana Juthi, along with a member of the election management committee and about 50 lawyers, were present at that time.

During the sorting, it was seen that there were more ballots than the number of votes cast, and based on that, secretary candidates Kajal and Juthi filed a complaint stating there were 150 extra ballots.

When the counting began, vice president candidate Dewan Md Abu Obaid Hosen Setu and others allegedly interrupted the process, citing the absence of all candidates and their agents.

"Since not all candidates and their agents are present, we cannot proceed with the counting right now," they said.

Shortly afterward, additional candidates reportedly appeared at the venue, where secretary candidate Shah Manjurul Haq urged for the vote counting to take place in daylight.

However, supporters of Nahid Sultana Juthi and Ruhul Kuddus Kajal persisted in their demand for the vote counting to proceed. 

Amidst heated exchanges, a clash erupted between lawyers representing both sides. To manage the situation, the police were called.

When asked, Barrister Ruhul Kuddus Kajal, secretary candidate of pro-BNP panel, said, "We were waiting for the announcement of the results. Shortly after the counting started, it was stopped due to objections from Shah Manjurul Haq's side. After a while, we saw that a winner for the secretary position was declared. Later, we couldn't find the election management committee or the ballots."

He denounced the declaration of a winner for the secretary position without conducting a vote count.