A visiting European parliamentary delegation sees no point in holding an early election unless all political parties take part. Jean Lambert, leader of a four-member cross-party delegation, said in a media meet on Monday that they still stood by the resolution adopted by the European Parliament after the Jan 5 national elections in Bangladesh. The EU did not find the polls credible, as more than half the seats returned winners uncontested after the main opposition comprising the BNP and its allies boycotted the polls. The resolution suggested that political parties arrive at a consensus to give the Bangladeshi people a chance to make their democratic choice. “We need a situation where voices of all the people can be heard in politics,” Lambert said on Monday, repeating the call for a dialogue among political parties. She said everything should be on the table during the discussion including the possibility of an early election “if all legitimate political parties are willing to participate”. She added that “from our point of view… there is no point of doing an early election if this is an action replay of the last one”. Lambert, chairperson of the delegation for relations with South Asia, is a member of the Green Party or European Free Alliance. The other members of the delegation are John Attard-Montalto from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Salvador Sedo i Alabart from the European People’s Party, and Niccolò Rinaldi from the Alliance of Democrats and Liberals. They will discuss the post-poll political situation and review factory safety and workers’ rights issues ahead of the first anniversary of the worst-ever building collapse last April that killed over 1,100 people, mostly workers. – bdnews24.com
