Staff Reporter :
A delegation of the opposition political alliance Jatiya Oikyafront will meet the Election Commission (EC) today (Wednesday) to urge it to defer the polls schedule by a month.
The alliance’s top leader, Dr Kamal Hossain, will lead the delegation.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, also the spokesman of the alliance, made the announcement after a meeting of the Oikyafront Steering Committee at Dr Kamal Hossain’s Motijheel chamber in Dhaka.
He said Dr Kamal Hossain along with the Oikyafront’s Steering Committee members will hold a meeting with the EC at Nirbachan Bhaban at 12:00 noon on Wednesday.
“The Election Commission, I think, has failed to take steps for holding a free, fair and credible election. The Commission was supposed to talk to political parties before the election schedule announcement, but they didn’t,” Fakhrul said.
He said, Dr Kamal Hossain will also exchange views with the editors of different national newspapers on Friday and then will sit with the heads of electronic media outlets.
On a query, Fakhrul said they still did not settle the seat-sharing issue with their alliance partners.
According to Oikyafront leaders, they have got upset as the EC fixed December 30 for holding the election without any discussion with the political parties.
“We think it’s extremely essential to accept our demand for delaying the election by one month,” said Oikyafront leader and JSD President ASM Abdur Rab.
He said foreign election observers would not have any scope to monitor the election if it is held on December 30, as they will remain busy due to the Christmas and New Year’s events. Rab said they will hold the meeting with the EC and talk about their various demands and observations on the election.
The EC deferred the election date by seven days at the government’s advice, Krishak Sramik Janata League President Bangobir Abdul Kader Siddique told reporters.
Kader, also an Oikyafront leader, said, “The EC should not have deferred the election date by a week. They only did this at the behest of the government.”
Deeming the delay “unfair”, he said, “We, and the people of this country wanted the election to be deferred by a month. But, they only delayed it by a week. This call was made by Badruddozza Chowdhury.”
Mentioning that previously, the EC used to hold discussions with political parties before the announcement of every election, Kader said, “But this Election Commission did not do this, that is why I suspect the EC will not be able to hold the election in a free, fair and inclusive manner.”
He also expressed his confidence that the ruling party, Awami League, will not be able to win the next election.
Earlier in the day, Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda while opening a training session of Returning Officers in the city said there is no scope to further defer the date of the 11th National Parliamentary elections.
