The Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, is likely to unveil the party’s thoughts and proposals for the reconstitution of the Election Commission acceptable to all to ensure ‘free’ and ‘fair’ elections on Friday.
Khaleda, also former prime minister, would place the proposals at a programme at Westin hotel in Dhaka, said a BNP standing committee member involved in the process of preparing the party’s framework on the reconstitution of the commission.
Sources at the BNP chairperson’s office said that senior leaders of the party and its allies, different professions, members of civil society, foreign diplomats stationed in Dhaka and journalists, among others, were being invited to the programme.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told New Age on Monday that they wanted an Election Commission acceptable to all.
He, however, declined to comment about the proposals.
At a press conference on Sunday, Fakhrul said that there was no alternative but to hold a general election under an election-time neutral government to be conducted by a neutral Election Commission to resolve the present crisis.
The party is likely to propose to reconstitute the commission with largely acceptable distinguished personalities from different professions including judges through discussions with the registered political parties particularly those have or had representation in parliament, said leaders involved in preparing the proposals.
They said that the party might not differ with the process of constituting the commission through a ‘search committee’ but would propose that the search committee should be formed with representatives from the political parties or people of their choice.
BNP might suggest that the president would consult political parties separately to constitute the commission, they added.
The party would emphasize the need for deploying army with magistracy during elections, reshuffling civil and police administration to keep away the partisan officials and employees from election process, the BNP leaders said.
Some members of BNP standing committee including secretary general and experts concerned, among others, were involved in preparing the framework.
Khaleda would sit with the members of the standing committee, BNP’s highest policymaking body, on Thursday to finalise the proposals, according to her office.
BNP is going to place the proposals at a time when the ruling Awami League is actively preparing for next general election and the tenure of incumbent Election Commission is going to expire in February 2017.
Although the next general election is scheduled for early 2019, there is a wide speculation for early election.
The incumbent commission was formed through a search committee.
Source: New Age
