Bangladesh News

The Election Commission (EC) will not withdraw or cancel the invitation to BNP faction led by former finance minister M Saifur Rahman to the electoral reforms talks, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda said yesterday.

“We already said if anybody is aggrieved by our decision, they can challenge it in the court. Now we see they are going to challenge our decision and they are most welcome,” Huda said, referring to detained BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s legal notice served on the EC.

“We will abide by the court’s order if they win in the legal battle,” he told reporters after answering the legal notice.

Khaleda served the legal notice on the EC on Tuesday, asking it to withdraw, rescind or cancel within 48 hours its letter sent to Maj (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed, acting secretary general of the Saifur-led faction.

In the notice, Khaleda threatened with taking legal action against the EC if it does not withdraw its invitation.

On November 5, the EC sent to the Saifur-led BNP faction the invitation to the electoral reforms talks on November 22, rejecting the plea of the BNP faction led by Khaleda-appointed secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain that they represent the mainstream of BNP and deserve the invitation.

Asked about the details of the EC’s response to the legal notice, the CEC said he explained the rationales for inviting Hafizuddin Ahmed to the talks. “We have nothing new to say,” the CEC added.

The faction led by Delwar rejected outright the EC decision and announced that they would challenge it in the court.