Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal on Sunday took a swipe at current Bangladesh Cricket Board president Aminul Islam for abusing power and alleged government interference in the upcoming election of the board, scheduled on October 6.
BANGLADESH CRICKET
Tamim alleges govt inference in BCB election
Tamim Iqbal, who is still playing competitive cricket, said that he will give up the game once he takes up administrative role in the BCB. © Getty
The BCB election commission, chaired by senior Supreme Court lawyer Mohammad Hossain, released the election schedule of the board on Sunday. Earlier, the election was scheduled to take place on October 4 but now the election commission has declared that it will take place two days later.
Election activities start from September 22 with the draft voter list set to be published that evening. The final voter list will be released on September 25. Prospective candidates can buy nomination forms over two days, and the final list of candidates will be announced on 1 October.
Voting will take place at Dhaka's Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, with results expected two hours later. E-ballots and postal votes will also be accepted, with submissions due by 2:00 pm on October 5.
The 25-member board will include 12 directors elected by Dhaka club councillors, 10 by regional and district councillors, one from other representatives, and two nominated by the National Sports Council. The directors will then elect the board president. The last BCB election took place on October 6 in 2021.
Tamim, who joined a protest organized by former and current cricketers, cricket organizers, and enthusiasts against the government-appointed councillor panel for the upcoming BCB election, said, "A few days ago, I met with the sports adviser and I told him one thing and one thing only - I am not asking for anything personal, I just want a fair election. I have not demanded anything beyond that. But since then, what I have been witnessing at district and divisional levels, and even at clubs, is completely unacceptable. It seems that the government is intervening from various directions, and this needs to be publicly known.
"If I am not mistaken, the election commission was formed on September 6. Once an election commission is in place, all matters must go through it. The deadlines for councillor nominations were first set for September 17 and suddenly, a message appeared in the BCB directors' group saying the deadline would be extended - first to September 19, and then to September 22.
"The first extension had some agreement among three or four directors, but the second extension was done solely by the BCB president, without consulting anyone else. He unilaterally extended the time," he said.
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