A government-appointed inquiry committee in Bangladesh has uncovered widespread irregularities including vote rigging, coercion and bias in the October 2025 Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) elections. A five-member panel headed by former Justice AKM Asadzaman submitted its report to the Sports Ministry on Sunday. According to ESPNcricinfo, the election process was neither free nor transparent, with evidence of voter intimidation and procedural violations.The committee also noted the repeated non-cooperation of top BCB officials during the investigation. Former BCB president Amin Islam Instead of submitting a written reply, he refused to attend the hearing in person. Nevertheless, the panel concluded that BCB officials and those within the sports ministry were involved in manipulating the election process.
Government’s decision to dissolve BCB boardAt a press conference on Tuesday, National Sports Council (NSC) Sports Director Mohammad Amin Al Hassan outlined the key findings of the report, saying the elections lacked transparency and integrity. “The electoral process was not free, fair or transparent. Voters were intimidated, and procedural irregularities were rampant.”Ahsan said the government had sufficient grounds to dissolve the BCB board led by Aminul. At the end of his press briefing, he announced the 11 members of a new ad hoc committee that will oversee the BCB for the next three months. Tamim IqbalThe former Bangladesh captain, who accused Aminul of abusing his powers as BCB president just four weeks before last year’s election, has been appointed as the new BCB president.“On March 10, 2026, Mr. Sharif Alam and other ex-councillors complained about district and divisional sports associations. The subject of the complaint was the deadline for submission of names of councilors from this category. Letters were sent to the authorities concerned on September 1 and 2 that the deadline for submission would be September 17. The BCB extended the deadline to September 29. The committee felt that the deadline was extended without any proper reason and for ulterior motives, to replace the previously nominated councilors with preferred persons and to create opportunities for them to be elected as directors,” Ahsan said. Allegations of abuse of power and manipulation“Furthermore, as per Article 9.3.3 of the BCB Constitution, the President does not have the authority to unilaterally appoint 10 former cricketers as Councillors. Therefore, Mr. Aminul Islam Bulbul as the BCB President exceeded his authority by unilaterally appointing 10 former cricketers as Councillors. This is a clear abuse of power and a violation of the BCB constitution. The committee found that the unilateral nomination of 10 former cricketers by Mr. Aminul Islam Bulbul had a significant impact on the electoral process, as he received benefits from these councilors and possibly influenced the election results,” the report added. E-voting under scrutinySerious reservations were also expressed on the process of e-voting. According to the report, Aminol and NSC officials manipulated the e-voting process, a finding supported by voter interviews that described the system as “premeditated”.“The committee found that e-voting was conducted from a designated location and the secrecy of the vote was not maintained, which is against basic democratic principles and the constitution of the BCB,” the report said. “Again, most of these voters were present at the polling station on the day of the physical voting of e-voters. Although there was an opportunity to vote in person, e-voting was conducted at a venue at the Sheraton Hotel in the capital on the night of the 5th (October 5), and the committee found the vote rigged.”
