BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday clarified that it is a misconception to believe that his party is solely focused on elections and not on reforms.
“We have been sincere about reforms from the very beginning. Unfortunately, we are now hearing statements that the BNP does not want reforms, but only elections. This is not correct,” he said during a dialogue, titled “Unity, Reform, Election” and organized by the Forum for Bangladesh Studies, at the Krishibid Institution in the capital.
Fakhrul said the BNP is committed to participating in the elections only after necessary reforms are carried out to ensure a free, fair and credible voting process.
“We keep talking about elections because it is the main gateway to democracy and the democratic process,” he added.
Describing the BNP’s sincerity regarding reforms, he mentioned that Chairperson Khaleda Zia presented Vision 2030 in 2016, outlining several reforms, including ensuring a balance of power between the president and the prime minister, limiting any individual to serving as prime minister for no more than two terms and introducing a bicameral parliament.
He said the BNP also unveiled a 31-point reform proposal after consulting with other democratic political parties, who had joined the movement against fascism, in 2022.
“Our main problem is that there is no democratic practice here and no democratic culture has been developed. Without a democratic culture, there will be repeated calls for reform,” the BNP leader Fakhrul said.
He also pointed out that it will not be possible to achieve any meaningful progress by imposing changes from above without a democratic culture and structure in place.
“The real problem is, who will implement these things (reforms)? Your administration and your government machinery are still completely under (the influence of) fascism,” Fakhrul said.
He further said that democracy would only succeed in Bangladesh if proper structures are built and institutions are fixed and made suitable for democratic processes.
Dhaka Tribune
