Dhaka, July 2 -- In a significant development likely to reshape public discourse on electoral integrity, former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) K.M. Nurul Huda on Tuesday admitted in court that the 2018 national election was rigged, with ballot boxes filled the night before polling day in clear violation of constitutional principles.

Huda's statement was recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ziadur Rahman at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka. Following the confession, he was sent to jail.

Court sources confirmed that the former CEC acknowledged his and his colleagues' involvement in facilitating voting activities overnight on 29 December 2018-one day ...