The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Saturday urged the Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus to announce roadmap for holding the next general election through bringing reforms in Election Commission, administration and other important sectors.
It also asked the government to appoint the Election Commission immediately based on political consensus. The BNP, which remains out of power since 2006, has placed a set of proposals during an hour-long dialogue with the Chief Adviser at state guest house Jamuna.
Council of advisers also attended the meeting. The interim government began the fresh round of talks with major political parties to further seek their opinions as it proceeds with six reform commissions.
The BNP secretary general led a six-member party team at the talks to discuss reform and other relevant issues, including the current political situation.
BNP standing committee members Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Mirza Abbas, Nazrul Islam Khan, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan and Salahuddin Ahmed were among the members of the BNP team.
Emerging from the meeting, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told reporters that they urged the interim government to declare road map for the next general elections.
“We have urged the Chief Adviser to announce the road map stating the date for the next general elections,” he said.
“The council of advisers have told us (BNP) that holding the next general election is their top priority as the demands, placed by us, are the demands of the people,” he added. The BNP also urged the interim government to take measures for the withdrawal of the all politically motivated cases filed between 2007 and August 5, 2024.
Asking the interim government not to include any controversial individual in the Electoral System Reform Commission, formed for reforming the electoral code of conducts.
The BNP also urged the government to bring all the election commissioners of the last three Election Commissions to book for conducting controversial and partisan elections in 2014, 2018 and 2024.
It also requested the government to scrap a law, enacted for transfer of the national identity registration operation from the Election Commission to the Security Services Division of the home ministry, by promulgating an ordinance.
Responding to a question on polls, Fakhrul Islam said they discussed about the polls and its reform.
“We have told them that an Election Commission must be constituted immediately based on political consensus. We have said that the roadmap for the polls mentioning the exact schedule must be declared,” he said.
Blaming former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque for destroying the election system, Mirza Fakhrul said he (Khairul) was the key figure for scrapping the caretaker government provision.
“We have urged the government to bring him (Khairul) to book for treachery,” he said.
The BNP secretary general also urged the government to remove those officials, who assisted the fascist government in committing various crimes, from their existing positions and immediately replace them with neutral officials.
Apart from those issues, the BNP secretary general also sought measures against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s activities from India.
He urged the government to discuss the matter with the Indian government.
Fakhrul said some bureaucrats, police officials and ministers are reportedly fleeing the country and the BNP wanted to know how they are fleeing and who are assisting them to do so.
He said they laid emphasis on appointing fit and neutral candidates in key posts, cancellation of contractual appointments and ensure promotion of deprived officials.
The BNP leader said there has been no change in the High Court Division and sought steps for removal of party-affiliated judges.
He said they also raised the CHT issue and urged the government to look into it seriously and find out people responsible for creating unrest in the CHT.
The BNP leader alleged that different offices and departments are not cooperating with the UN team which is visiting Bangladesh.
At the invitation of the Interim Government, a UN Human Rights Office fact-finding team is conducting an independent and impartial investigation into alleged human rights violations that took place between July 1 and August 15 this year, arising from the recent mass upsurge.
The fact-finding team is mandated to establish facts, identify responsibilities, analyse root causes, and make concrete recommendations for Bangladesh to address past human rights violations and prevent their recurrence.
Regarding the Hindu community, he said a few people, not all, in a planned way are trying to instigate the people and sought the government's steps as the BNP sees it as a conspiracy against the country.
Earlier, the government formed six reform commissions to reform the state apparatus-- judiciary, election system, administration, police, Anti-Corruption Commission and the constitution.
