Bangladesh News

In a last-ditch attempt to resolve the ongoing political crisis centring the reconstitution of the Election Commission (EC), the caretaker government last night began a dialogue with the major political parties.

On the first day, they met Awami League (AL) led 14-party combine yesterday.

Earlier in the day, a meeting of the council of advisers with Chief Adviser and President Iajuddin Ahmed in the chair formed a four-member committee and tasked it with seeking the political parties’ opinions on ways to break the impasse.

The committee comprises Dr Akbar Ali Khan, CM Shafi Sami, Mahbub Alam and Yasmin Morshed.

The discussion with the 14-party combine started at 8:15pm at the state guesthouse Padma. It was still going on till filing the report at around 9:30pm.

AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil was leading the delegation that included Abdur Razzak, Suranjit Sengupta, Tofail Ahmed, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Rashed Khan Menon, Hasanul Huq Inu, Pankaj Bhattacharya, Dilip Barua and Nurul Islam.

If there were still some time left, the committee will begin its view-exchange with the BNP-led four-party alliance immediately after ending the meeting with AL and its allies.

In turn, it will sit with the Jatiya Party (Ershad) and newly formed Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) as well.

On wrapping up the dialogues, the four advisers will submit a set of recommendations to the council.

“I firmly believe that something positive will come out from the discussions with the major political parties that will participate in the election and represent the people in future,” Information Adviser Mahbub Alam said at a news conference yesterday.

Adviser Akbar Ali Khan told reporters that the dialogue is aimed at reaching a consensus on ways to hold a free and fair election. “We will take a decision as soon as possible. However, we don’t want to impose anything on the political parties. We just want to help them sort out a solution regarding the present situation,” he observed.

The caretaker government that was formed last month has been in extreme difficulties regarding reconstitution of the EC following the chief election commissioner’s (CEC) refusal to stand down.

No other caretaker government faced such a complex political crisis since inception of the system in 1996.

The AL-led 14-party alliance has been calling for electoral reforms for over a year. The demands were first raised during the rule of four-party alliance, but the onus to resolve the issue has been put on the interim government.

Things got more complicated after the much-vaunted dialogue between the BNP and AL in October failed to settle the deadlock.

Amid a volatile situation, the caretaker government assumed office on October 29.

The council of advisers at its very first meeting on November 1 took a number of initiatives to make the EC effective.

It sent an adviser to CEC MA Aziz to know whether he would resign if requested by the caretaker government. But the CEC stubbornly refused to resign and instead announced that the next parliamentary election will be held under the present EC.

Following the refusal, the council of advisers held three meetings but could not find a way out of the trouble.

Information adviser Mahbub Alam termed the decision to have talks with the political parties an important step towards getting things started to change for the better.

At a jam-packed news conference at the conference room of Press Information Department (PID), he said the advisory council will talk on a wide range of issues including those relating to the free and fair conduct of the upcoming general election.

The advisers have very little time in hand and they must work faster, he added

Asked whether any decision has been taken on the CEC or his deputies, Mahbub said, “If we already had a decision, then why would we be having talks with the political parties. We are sitting with them as different political parties have different opinions.”

A four-member advisers’ committee meets a 14-party alliance delegation at the state guesthouse Padma in the capital yesterday in an effort to resolve the ongoing political stalemate over electoral reforms. PHOTO: STAR