Staff Reporter :The BNP has conveyed its misgivings to the foreign diplomats about the role of Election Commission (EC) and the party’s apprehension of widespread vote rigging, and said that the December 30 municipal polls may be marred by irregularities and muscle ‘by the ruling party’. The hour-long meeting between the BNP’s senior leaders and the Dhaka-based foreign diplomats took place at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office in the city on Wednesday. BNP Standing Committee Member Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, Chairperson’s Advisors Reaz Rahman, Sabih Uddin Ahmed and Ameer Khashru Mahmud Chowdhury talked with the diplomats from the UN, the European Union, the UK, the USA, Australia, Singapore, Sweden, Turkey, Germany, Canada, Japan, Pakistan, India and Nepal.Talking to reporters after the meeting, Moyeen Khan said that the agenda of the meeting was the municipality polls and the country’s democratic and overall situation. The BNP leaders briefed the foreign diplomats about the party’s apprehensions on possible irregularities during the polls.Moyeen Khan said that the diplomats were briefed about the regular violation of the electoral code of conduct by ministers, MPs and leaders of the ruling party, the mass-arrest of opposition politicians and intimidation to opposition candidates, the subservient role of the EC and its failure to ensure a level playing field. “You have seen how seven mayors and nearly 150 councillors have already been elected unopposed. How is this possible?” the BNP leader said. He also said this was possible because in many places, the opposition candidates could not even file their nominations. An Awami League MP had even used a helicopter to reach a constituency during the filing of nomination by his party candidate, he added. He claimed over 1,000 BNP leaders and activists were arrested in the last two weeks.When asked about the reaction of the diplomats to these allegations, he said, “Please ask them.”But none of the foreign diplomats spoke to the media about their meeting with the BNP leaders.The meeting sources said that the BNP leaders also provided the envoys with some documents, including CDs and paper cuttings, in support of their allegations.The BNP leaders told the envoys that Awami League was planning to hold lopsided elections in 235 municipalities with the help of the EC and the administration, as it did in the last three city corporation polls.
