The BNP has urged the government to arrange the national elections at the earliest as well as announce the roadmap to the polls based on the consensus of major political parties.
“The chief adviser told us that holding elections is his number one priority,” the party’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told reporters after a dialogue with Chief Dr Muhammad Yunus today (5 October) at the State Guesthouse Jamuna.
Underscoring holding elections as the party’s first priority, the BNP has also called for the formation of a new Election Commission.
“A new Election Commission will have to be formed immediately based on the consensus of major political parties suspending the Election Commission Appointment Act. We have asked to give a roadmap for when the election commission will hold the election,” Fakhrul said.
“We have told the chief adviser that no controversial person should go to the Election Reform Commission. We have asked to cancel all the Union Parishads elected by fake votes of the fascist government. We have asked to bring the chief election commissioners and commissioners who were with them in 2014, 2018 and 2024 under the law on charges of fake, failed and biased elections,” said the BNP leader.
When asked what the chief adviser said about BNP’s demands, he said they are looking at the issues with great importance. “They think our demands are the people’s demands, our demands are theirs too.”
The BNP has raised concerns about the interim government still appointing one or two people who were part of the previous fascist regime and demanded these officials be removed.
The party demanded legal action against former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque, who according to Fakhrul, was the main person behind “destroying the electoral system and cancellation of the caretaker government system”, on charges of sedition.
Fakhrul said some bureaucrats, police officials and ministers are reportedly fleeing the country and they wanted to know how they are fleeing and who are assisting them to flee.
The party’s secretary general also raised concerns regarding those connected with mass killings during the July revolution who have now been released on bail.
Fakhrul also alleged that a vested quarter of the Hindu community has been spreading lies against the nation and exaggerating the attacks on Hindu minorities. The party urged the government to take steps and action in this regard.
The party placed a number of proposals before the interim government seeking urgent steps to address their concerns, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s stay in India.
He said they drew the interim government’s attention to Hasina’s activities from India and urged the government to discuss the matter with the Indian government.
He said they laid emphasis on appointing fit and neutral candidates in key posts, cancellation of contractual appointments and ensuring promotion of deprived officials.
The BNP leader said there has been no change in the High Court Division and sought steps for removal of party-affiliated judges.
He said they also raised the CHT issue and urged the government to look into it seriously and find out people responsible for creating instability in the CHT.
The BNP leader alleged that different offices and departments are not cooperating with the UN team which is visiting Bangladesh.
At the invitation of the Interim Government, a UN Human Rights Office fact-finding team is conducting an independent and impartial investigation into alleged human rights violations that took place between July 1 and August 15 this year, arising from the recent protests.
The fact-finding team is mandated to establish facts, identify responsibilities, analyse root causes, and make concrete recommendations for Bangladesh to address past human rights violations and prevent their recurrence.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and CPB will likely join the first day’s dialogue with other political parties today, which may last till 8pm, a political source told media earlier.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is expected to discuss reform and other relevant issues, including the current political situation. Senior BNP leaders, including standing committee members, are part of the delegation, BNP media cell member Shayrul Kabir Khan said.
Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam, at a press briefing on Thursday (3 October), said that BNP and several other political parties have been invited to participate in the dialogue.
“The key purpose of the dialogue is to inform the political parties about progress over the six reform commissions’ work and discuss the law and order situation of the country, and seek their suggestions,” he told reporters, mentioning that this is an ongoing process.
There were two rounds of dialogue between political parties and the Advisory Council led by Dr Yunus after the formation of the interim government on 8 August.
The BNP formed six committees to determine the party’s position on the interim government’s state reform initiatives.
A BNP standing committee member earlier said they will concentrate on the government’s proposed roadmap for state reforms and the upcoming election during the talks with the government.
The government has formed six reform commissions. The reform commissions are- the Electoral System Reform Commission, headed by Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar; the Police Administration Reform Commission, headed by Sarfaraz Hossain; the Judiciary Reform Commission, headed by Justice Shah Abu Naeem Mominur Rahman; the Anti-corruption Reform Commission, headed by TIB’s Dr Iftekharuzzaman; the Public Administration Reform Commission, headed by Abdul Mueed Chowdhury; and the Constitution Reform Commission, headed by Distinguished Professor at Illinois State University Prof Ali Riaz.
