BNP on Friday termed a blueprint the government’s plan to hold local government polls under the banner of political parties sidetracking the opposition’s demand for holding a fresh national election.
“The government’s move to hold the local government election under the banner of political parties is nothing but a blueprint. It’s been designed to sidetrack people’s demand for a national election. We condemn the government for such evil plan,” said BNP spokesman Asaduzzaman Ripon.
Addressing a press briefing at the party’s Nayapaltan central office, he also said local body election under the party banner is unrealistic in the country’s current political context.
Ripon urged the government to accept their demand for arranging national polls.
The BNP leader alleged that the government will ensure the victory of their majority candidates by force in the local government polls if those are held under party banner. “They’ll try to achieve majority in the polls by force to demonstrate that people are with them and they’ve popularity to stay in power until 2019.”
Calling the current Election Commission (EC) worthless, Ripon said no fair election is possible under it. “They (EC) couldn’t play any neutral role in the election to last local government bodies, including city corporations. The Commission has neither the ability nor impartiality to arrange the local government polls in December and January next year as per the government’s plan.”
He alleged that the many of the BNP-blessed candidates who had been elected mayors, chairmen and vice chairmen in the last non-partisan elections in different local government bodies have been suspended using the Local Government Act-2009. “If public representatives elected in non-partisan polls face such consequences what will happen to those will be elected in the party-basis polls.”
The BNP leader also feared that people may face discrimination in getting services from the local government representatives if they are elected through the polls under party banner as a politics of division is prevailing everywhere in the country.
Ripon urged the government to discuss with people from all walks of life before finalising the decision of holding the local government polls on party basis.
He also demanded the government reconstitute the EC with neutral persons.
Source: UNB
