General election will never be free and fair if Hasina remains in power
Published:
2022-07-18 05:48:49 BdST
Update:
2024-04-26 01:35:49 BdST
Live Correspondent: Next general election will never be free, fair and impartial if Awami League President Sheikh Hasina remains in power, said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday. “Whatever the Election Commission says, the question is about the government system during the election. If they (Awami League) remain in the power and Hasina stays as prime minister, the next election will never be a credible one, which we have seen in the past,” he told journalists at the BNP Chairperson's Gulshan office in Dhaka.
Mentioning that EC has no power to do anything, the BNP leader said, "Our past experiences say that if Awami League remains in power, no matter what type of Election Commission you have, they will never be able to conduct a credible and acceptable election."
He further said, "We boycotted the elections in 2014, we participated in 2018 elections with the expectation that the prime minister will keep her promises. But it was seen that the voting was held at night before the elections."
Fakhrul said, "Taking all these matters into account, how do you (journalists) expect that BNP will join the Election Commission’s dialogue, will sit and talk with them?"
Criticising the formation of present EC, Fakhrul said, “In the past, we gave a proposal to the President for the formation of EC in response to his call. We hoped they would take appropriate steps and but nothing happened. This time, the EC has also been formed in the same way."
"Sheikh Hasina has decided to hold the next general elections under a partisan government by referring to the court verdict, said the BNP secretary general, adding that "the purpose is they want to stay in power forever. But it is also true that elections are being held in many countries of the world under partisan governments. But the democratic environment in those countries should be taken into account."
Fakhrul said people of the country do not want any election under this government and the EC. "We don't want to comment on dialogue of the EC and EVMs. If we can't oust this government, no election will be held under this EC.”
Dhaka, 17 July (campuslive24.com)//BIT
Topic:
Share Your Valuable Comments: