The process of forming an all-party poll-time government to supervise the imminent national election has started, Awami League leader Tofail Ahmed has said.
He invited the BNP, the country’s main opposition party, to join the all-inclusive government proposed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Tofail said it was now up to the BNP to take initiatives if it wanted a dialogue.
The party had last Saturday rebuffed a talks offer made by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to BNP chief Khaleda Zia.
File Photo
“We are ready for unconditional talks,” he said at a party meeting on Wednesday.
During Saturday’s telephonic conversation, Khaleda asked Hasina to accede to her demand for a caretaker government.
The ruling Awami League-led coalition and the BNP-headed 18-Party alliance are in a logjam over the poll-time dispensation.
The Opposition is demanding a non-party election-time government to oversee the polls.
However, the Constitution empowers the incumbent government to hold office during that period.
The caretaker provision was scrapped through the 15th constitutional amendment.
In her recent address to the nation earlier this month, the Prime Minister proposed an all-inclusive election-time government.
The Leader of the Opposition rejected the idea and floated her own version of a poll-time government comprising former caretaker government advisors, headed by a ‘respected’ citizen.
“There’s no scope for talks conceding the caretaker demand,” Tofail said.
The 10th national election is expected to take place by Jan 24, 2014. Countdown to the polls began on Oct 27.
Source: Bd news24
