EC looks for ways to resume stalled talks with parties

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Already one and a half months behind schedule, the Election Commission (EC) is still searching ways to resume dialogue with political parties that got stalled under a court order when it invited Saifur-led BNP faction to take part in the talks but pro-Khaleda faction challenged this.

In the prevailing situation, the EC cannot initiate steps for the second round talks with the parties to finalise its electoral reform proposals which are to be made laws since it is yet to complete the first round talks by sitting with the BNP due to the legal complexities.

The EC cannot say now when it will be able to wrap up the reform talks with parties that began on September 12 last year and was supposed to end in November.

Senior leaders of Awami League (AL) and other political parties who already with the EC said they could not go for reforms within their parties since the EC could not yet finalise electoral reform proposals considering the suggestions placed by them at the talks.

Meanwhile, the caretaker government’s much-talked-about dialogue with political parties is yet to begin as it depends on the EC’s completion of talks with them.

Contacted yesterday, AL acting General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said the reform process has come to a halt as the second round talks between the EC and political parties have not taken place since it (EC) is still to sit with the BNP.

“The commission is engaged in a lot of tasks but it could not yet complete any of those including drafting of a voter list. This has given rise to apprehension about holding the next parliamentary election as per the announced electoral roadmap,” Ashraf added.

Saifur-led BNP leader Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman said the EC should invite the BNP immediately for talks as time is running out fast. “We have to complete a lot of tasks for reforms in the party…We are not sure whether we can participate dialogue with the government since we are yet to sit with the commission over electoral reforms,” he said when contacted.

Jatiya Party (Ershad) acting chief Anisul Islam Mahmud said they would bring reforms in the light of reform proposals finalised by the EC.

“We discussed the issues with the commission, and its duty is to let the parties know its final reform proposals before sitting for a second round dialogue,” he told this correspondent yesterday.

Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal President Hasanul Haque Inu said the EC should immediately resolve the existing crisis so that they can sit with the government over reform issues.

For the first time since its reconstitution on February 4 last year, the EC’s action triggered controversy when it invited Saifur-led BNP faction for talks, ignoring objections from BNP faction led by detained Chairperson Khaleda Zia-appointed party Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain. The latter claimed itself as the mainstream of the party.

The High Court (HC) on November 18 last year stayed the operations of the EC’s November 5 letter to BNP standing committee- nominated Party Secretary General Hafizuddin Ahmed and issued a rule on the commission to explain in three weeks why the invitation should not be declared illegal and void. The EC in its reply on November 13 refused to cancel the invitation.

Since the scheduled dialogue was stalled, the EC says it wants quick disposal of the matter whatever the court verdict is.

In a recent development, an HC bench had dropped this case from the list since counsels for the BNP faction did not appear in the court.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda yesterday asked the law cell of the EC Secretariat to make all efforts to overcome the difficulties, sources said.

Election Commissioner Muhammed Sohul Hussain on Wednesday said the EC asked its lawyer Dr Kamal Hossain to take steps for an expeditious hearing and disposal of the writ petition to settle the issue.

The EC began its electoral reforms talks with political parties on September 12 last year and sat with 15 parties including the AL, both factions of Jatiya Party and Jamaat-e-Islami.

At the talks, leaders of the parties said they would go for intra-party reforms in line with the electoral laws to be enacted by the government on receipt of the EC’s proposals.

Once these laws are made, most parties will have to bring reforms in them and amend their constitutions to get registration from the EC. And for this, the parties will have to hold their national councils.

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