Joining city polls depends on situation: BNP
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Monday announced that it would hold countrywide rallies on December 30 in protest against widespread vote-rigging in the 2018 general election.
The party said their participation in the upcoming Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka South City Corporation mayoral polls would depend on the situation of electoral environment.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi made the announcements in separate briefings in the capital.
Rizvi, addressing a press conference at the party central office at Naya Paltan, said that BNP would observe December 30 as ‘democracy killing day’ and the party would hoist black flags at all party offices across the country; and the leaders and activists of the party would wear black badges to mark the day.
Responding to a question, he also said that his party had submitted letters to the authorities concerned for permissions to hold a rally in Dhaka on the day either at Suhrwardy Udyan or in front of the party’s central office.
Rizvi at the press conference alleged that the government, out of political vengeance, had been hatching a plot to kill the imprisoned party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, in jail by denying her quality treatment.
He alleged that the government had submitted a baseless report, prepared by doctors adherent to Awami League, to the court and did not allowing Khaleda to receive treatment from her personal physicians — Shamim and Mamun.
‘BSMMU authorities, on orders from the government, had committed one type of “medical terrorism” over Begum Zia’s treatment,’ he said.
Addressing a press briefing after attending an emergency meeting of the party standing committee at the party chairperson’s Gulshan office in the evening, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that contesting in the upcoming two Dhaka city mayoral elections would depend on the situation of electoral environment and suspected that the Election Commission had announced the schedule hurriedly as per its ‘old strategy to ensure victory of ruling party candidate.
The standing committee met in the emergency meeting after the commission on Sunday announcement of election schedule setting the two city corporations’ election date as January 30, 2020 and to hold the election using Electronic Voting Machine.
‘We had a decision that we would participate in the local government elections. And in its continuation, we would contest the elections. But it totally depends on the situation of electoral environment,’ he said.
‘The Election Commission said that the entire election would be held using EVMs. It is badly objectionable and we condemn the decision. There would be enough opportunity to manipulate and control election results if EVM is used. That is why, we have been opposing the use of EVMs in this election,’ he said.
The BNP leader said that they would distribute party nomination forms to the aspirants in the election on December 26 between 10:00am and 4:00pm at the party chairperson’s Gulshan office, receive the filled up forms within 4:00pm on December 27 there, and take interview of the aspirants on December 28 on the same day at the same venue.
News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net
