BNP: CEC working as govt’s tool

BNP senior leader Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Sunday said their party expects nothing from current Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal as he is working as a “tool” of the government.

“The statements he (CEC) is making manifest that he’s thinking of putting (Awami League) in power though stealing (votes) like in the past. So, there is no reason to expect from him,” he told a seminar.

Instead of focusing on the polls, the BNP leader also said the CEC has been making contradictory comments about the government’s assistance in holding the next general election.

“What this man (CEC) is doing now is his job since he was put there as a tool of the fascist regime. His task is to put Sheikh Hasina in power again by stealing votes in the next election. What do you expect from him? You can't expect anything from them,” he observed.

The seminar titled “Acceptable National Elections: Election-time Neutral Government, Structural Reforms and the Role of Major Stakeholders” organized by NDM’s Think Tank, Governance and Policy Research-GPR, was held at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity Office. Professor AKM Waresul Karim presented the keynote at the program.

Khosru, a BNP standing committee member, also said no institution of the country, including the judiciary is now functional under the rule of the current regime.

He said all institutions are now serving the “fascist” regime while the media outlets are being regulated.

“The only way to get rid of this situation is to remove this regime through united efforts. This is not a single party's struggle as this is a struggle for the freedom of the country’s 18 crore people. Bangladesh became independent once through the Liberation War. It’s now the second liberation war for establishing democracy in the country,” the BNP leader said.

Khosru alleged that the Awami League government annulled the polls-time non-party government system, which was added to the constitution based on national consensus, as part of its plan to hang onto power. "The cancellation of this provision by the court was unconstitutional and illegal.”

He said their party has already presented a 31-point proposal to restore democratic politics and build the country through various reforms after the fall of the current regime.

The BNP leader said they their party wants the removal of Sheikh Hasina’s government to restore true democracy, human rights, the rule of law, press freedom, and freedom of expression and ensure a level playing field and equal rights of all.

Nationalist Democratic Movement (NDM chairman Bobby Hajjaj, BNP joint secretary general Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal and AB Party member secretary Mujibur Rahman Monju, among others, spoke at the seminar.

Source: UNB