BNP not to join polls under AL govt: Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that their party will not join the 12th general election under the Awami League government.

"As we said before, we’re least bothered about the new Election commission. Our main worry is about the election-time government,” he said.

Speaking at a discussion meeting, the BNP leader said it is certain that there will be no election in the country if Awami League is there in the government.”
Because they’ll (AL) try to snatch the election results in their own style again and we’ll have to just watch it sitting at home. So, we won’t join that type of election.”

Bangladesh Hindu, Buddhist and Christian Oikya Front arranged the programme at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU) protesting the reported communal remarks by Keraniganj Police Station OC Abdus Salam and an attack on BNP leader Nipun Roy Chowdhury.

Fakhrul reiterated that BNP’s only demand is for holding the general election under a non-party neutral or caretaker government. “Our demand is not for the formation of the Election Commission (EC) and the search committee. “

He said the Awami League government must resign handing over power to a non-partisan government. “Then the non-partisan government will form the Election Commission to hold fair elections and establish the rights of people."

Earlier on Saturday, President Abdul Hamid appointed former defence secretary Kazi Habibul Awal as the new Chief Election Commissioner, reports UNB.

Based on the search committee’s recommendations, he also appointed Brigadier General Ahsan Habib Khan (retd), former district and sessional judge Begum Rashida Sultana , former senior secretaries Mohammad Alamgir and Anisur Rahman as the four other commissioners of the new EC.

The tenure of the immediate past EC, led by KM Nurul Huda, expired on February 14.

Fakhrul alleged that the current government has destroyed the EC like other state and constitutional organisations.

He said the Election Commission, a constitutional body, has a sacred responsibility to ensure the voting rights of the country’s people so that they can vote.

The BNP leader said it is also the responsibility of the EC to help form a parliament and a government that truly represents people through holding representative elections. “But this system was destroyed since Awami League came to power.”

Fakhrul alleged that Awami League revoked the caretaker government system as it knew it would not able to come to power with people’s votes. “The caretaker government was their (AL’s) demand. We accepted that as it was a desire of the country’s people…there were four unquestionable elections under caretaker governments.”

He said the people of all walks of life and all professions have got fed up with the ‘fascist’ rule of the Awami League government.

The BNP leader said people are waiting to get rid of the Awami League’s ‘misrule' and repression.

Criticising the communal remarks by Keraniganj OC Abdus Salam, he said police dared make such remarks as Awami League has used them to stay in power.