Bangladesh News

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda believes that parliamentary elections without the participation of BNP will not be acceptable.

“BNP is one of the largest political parties. How is it possible to hold parliamentary elections keeping BNP away?” Huda said in a press briefing yesterday.

The CEC said they will have to hold the parliamentary polls with the participation of all political parties “otherwise the election will not be acceptable to us and others”.

Huda yesterday said the Election Commission (EC) has been repeatedly asking the government to ensure participation of all major political parties including the BNP in the next parliamentary polls. He said the caretaker government still trying to resolve the issue.

BNP leaders loyal to detained BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia have been refusing to take part in the parliamentary polls held under the current EC, accusing it of engaging in a “conspiracy” to split the party.

They have been demanding immediate release of the party chief and her son Tarique Rahman. They said they would not take part in the polls without Khaleda Zia.

Commenting on the CEC’s remarks about BNP, BNP Vice-president MK Anwar said at last common sense has dawned upon the EC which refused to admit that the BNP is a political party during the reforms talks.

Relations between the BNP faction led by Khaleda Zia and the EC deteriorated when the EC invited the M Saifur Rahman-led BNP faction to the electoral reform talks last November.

Khaleda Zia-appointed BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain had repeatedly asked the EC not to invite the Saifur-led faction claiming the faction was not the BNP mainstream.

The EC ignored the demands of Delwar and invited the Saifur-led faction of BNP to the talks. The EC’s invitation to the electoral reform talks put the Saifur-led BNP in a comfortable position to be registered with the EC as mainstream BNP.

But the Saifur-led faction failed to drum up support from the grassroots-level leaders and activists and now the faction’s leaders are talking about unity.

“The Election Commission tried to split BNP. But now they have understood the truth,” Anwar told The Daily Star.

Asked what the EC would do if Delwar applies to get registered with the EC as mainstream BNP, the CEC said they would consider it. “All of you know the present situation of BNP,” the CEC said.