Selecting party leadership is no job of EC

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Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda yesterday said it is not the duty of the Election Commission (EC) to determine the leadership of a political party.

“It is the political parties that will have to determine their leadership by holding party meetings or council. We will be in a neutral position,” CEC Huda told reporters in an oblique reference to the ongoing crisis in the BNP over its leadership following expulsion of BNP secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and joint secretary general Ashraf Hossain.

The CEC cleared the EC’s stance after receiving claims from both of the BNP factions — one led by Bhuiyan and another by newly appointed Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain — over the party’s current leadership. In the letters submitted to the CEC, both factions claimed themselves as the mainstream of the BNP and demanded that the EC communicate with them for holding talks on electoral reforms.

Asked which faction will be invited to attend the EC’s talks on electoral reforms, the CEC said the EC has yet to decide the matter.

“A lot of time remains before holding talks with the BNP. Many things may happen by this time,” the CEC said, adding, “So, we are not concerned about possible split in the political parties.”

The much-talked dialogue between the EC and political parties on electoral reforms is set to begin from tomorrow. On the first day, the Islami Oikya Jote is scheduled to join the talks.

The BNP and Awami League, two major political partiers of the country, are scheduled for talks in November.

The EC however will have to decide which faction of BNP will be invited for the upcoming talks with the parties if the ongoing crisis in BNP persists.

CEC Huda, who on several occasions from April 4 has asked for lifting the ban or at least relaxing the restrictions on indoor politics so that the EC can hold talks with the parties, yesterday expressed his satisfaction over the government decision to relax the ban on indoor politics and termed it timely and proper.

“We are now more confident of completing our tasks on time. We can now see our destination,” Huda said.

About the chief adviser’s remark on holding the stalled parliamentary election earlier than the set time of December 2008, the CEC said, “The parliamentary election can be held in October or November in 2008, if the task for preparing the voter list is completed earlier than the scheduled time.”

According to the EC’s roadmap the voter list with photographs will be ready in October 2008.

The two other election commissioners, Muhammed Sohul Hussain and Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain lauded the government decision about relaxing the restrictions on indoor politics.

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