Chief election commissioner KM Nurul Huda shakes hands with Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders during a pre-poll dialogue with the party at Election Commission Secretariat in the capital on Sunday. — Ali Hossain Mintu
Main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Sunday suggested that Election Commission take an effective initiative for the immediate withdrawal of all ‘false’ and ‘dictated’ cases filed against its chairperson Khaleda Zia and other leaders and activists across the country.
The party made the demand while putting forth a 20-point proposal in the EC-hosted dialogue over holding the next parliament election in a free, fair and neutral manner.
The commission, led by chief election commissioner KM Nurul Huda, held the talks with BNP at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital as part of its ongoing dialogue with registered political parties ahead of the 11th parliament elections to be held on January 22, 2019 at the latest.
A 16-member BNP delegation, led by its secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, joined the dialogue that lasted about two and a half hours.
At the dialogue, BNP proposed forming a poll-time election-supportive government, dissolution of incumbent parliament before the general election, withdrawal of all cases against the party leaders and activists including chairperson Khaleda Zia, immediate release of all political leaders and activists, stopping enforced disappearance, killing, harassment and various ways of intimidation and creation of level playing field from right now through allowing all political parties equal scope to exercise their all normal democratic political rights, Fakhrul told reporters after emerging from the dialogue.
The written proposal sought an effective initiative to withdraw all cases filed against Khaleda Zia and leaders filed during the former army-backed caretaker government.
Fakhrul said the chief election commissioner lauded the late president of the country and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman and the party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, for their contribution to multi-party democracy.
He said at the dialogue they proposed that the defence services be deployed with magistracy power at least one week before the election in the parliamentary constituencies including each polling centre and added that defence services of Bangladesh would have to be incorporated as law enforcement agency in Representation of People Order 1972.
Fakhrul commented that although there was no major scope to be hopeful amid the undemocratic attitude of the incumbent government, the dialogue generated a little bit hope among them.
Fakhrul claimed that they (CEC and other election commissioners) told them (BNP) that they (EC) had limitations and could not carry out their duties fully under the present situation of the country.
He also said they (EC) stated that ‘real democracy’ was ‘absent’ in Bangladesh.
While talking to New Age, CEC Nurul Huda, however, denied having said anything about their limitation and the present state of democracy.
Fakhrul said that the EC appreciated their proposals and would think about what could be done.
BNP also spoke against using electronic voting machine or digital voting machine, restoration of delimitation of parliamentary constituency that existed before 2008 general election.
It also proposed freeing the administration from partisan influence and cancellation of all contract-based appointments before the poll while the party also proposed cancellation of managing committee of all educational institutions six months before the election.
The party demanded reshuffling the administration from top to the grassroots level including metropolitan police commissioners, deputy commissioners, superintendent of police, deputy police commissioners, upazila nirbahi officers and police officer-in-charge before declaring the poll schedule.
The party also suggested magistracy power for EC class-one officers during the poll.
The party also demanded that closed-circuit cameras be installed at each polling centre and scrap the controversial section-57 of ICT act.
BNP standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Moudud Ahmed, Jamiruddin Sircar, Mahbubur Rahman, Tariqul Islam, Rafiqul Islam Mia, Mirza Abbas, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Amir Khoshru Mahmud Chowdhury, Nazrul Islam Khan, BNP chairperson’s advisory council members and former bureaucrats Abdul Halim, Ismail Zobiullah and senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi among others joined the dialogue.
In an instant reaction, ruling Awami League general secretary and road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader on Sunday said that the EC was working with its own ideas.
About BNP’s participation in the next general election he said BNP was a strong and big party. ‘We want it very much that BNP participate in the election,’ he said, adding, ‘We don’t want to win by defeating weak party; we want to defeat strong contender.’
Source: New Age
