All parties to take part in polls

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Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed yesterday told British Minister of State for Asia, Africa and the United Nations Lord Malloch Brown that his caretaker government hopes that all the political parties will participate in December 18 general elections and a new government will take over after the polls.

“Political parties will certainly come as what we are doing, doing by consulting them. The government and the Election Commission are discussing with the political parties. A new government will come through the election,” he was quoted as telling the visiting British minister.

Lord Malloch Brown made a courtesy call on the chief adviser at his office when election, politics, state of emergency, economy, global financial crisis and food stock came up for discussion.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, CA’s Press Secretary Syed Fahim Munaim said the CA apprised the British minister of the recently held free, fair and peaceful elections to four city corporations and nine municipalities amid relaxed provisions of the state of emergency.

“If necessary, whatever has to be done for further relaxing the state of emergency will be done discussing with the political parties for holding the coming parliament election fairly,” he told the British minister.

The head of the caretaker government said his government’s main objective is to hold a free, fair and credible election. Food security and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are also on the priority list of the government, he added.

About impact of the global financial crisis on Bangladesh, the CA said it won’t have any major impact on the business sector here.

The British minister appreciated the caretaker government’s remarkable achievements and performance under the leadership of Fakhruddin, particularly institutional reforms and completion of voter list with photographs of over 80 million people in a short time.

On food security, the CA apprised the minister of two back-to back floods and a powerful cyclone last year, which caused massive damage to food crops. The government has tried its best to overcome the situation, he said.

He said the government focused on increased food production and extended support and supplied agri-inputs to the farmers from its limited resources. And the farmers, by dint of their hard labour, produced bumper food crops, including rice, potatoes and wheat.

The CA said the government has enough food in stock.

Referring to government’s various programmes for food-safety net, the CA said about 15 million people, both in rural and urban areas, were given income and food supports through a number of measures like introducing 100-day programme for employment in the national budget for rural people during lean period and operation of Open Market Sale (OMS) of rice in urban areas.

Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, British High Commissioner in Dhaka Stephen Nicholas Evans, Head of DFID Bangladesh Chris Austin, Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Shafiuddin Ahmed, Secretary of CA’s Office Kazi M Aminul Islam and CA’s Press Secretary Syed Fahim Munaim were present.

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