The Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance on Monday rejected the
schedule for the 10th parliamentary elections saying that the government
had taken a ‘unilateral’ move to hold a ‘farcical’ election without
trying to reach an understanding with the opposition on the polls-time
government.
Hours after the announcement of the election schedule, acting BNP
secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir flanked by the alliance
leaders at a news briefing at the party chairperson ‘s Gulshan office
demanded that the
election schedule should be withheld until a political consensus was reached over the polls-time government.
He said the opposition was rejecting the schedule for holding a
‘farcical’ election announced by ‘spineless’ and ‘biased’ Election
Commission ignoring the aspiration of the countrymen and repeated
calls of the international community for an inclusive election.
Fakhrul said as per expectation of the people, the opposition wanted a
free, fair, competitive and inclusive election under a non-party neutral
government.
‘We want to participate in a meaningful election,’ he said.
He said the opposition alliance would not join in any ‘farce’ in the name of election.
Asked whether the BNP was still hopeful about a dialogue, Fakhrul said
he was talking about election schedule at the moment and would talk
about dialogue later on.
Liberal Democratic Party secretary general Redwan Ahmed, NDP chairman
Golam Mortuza, BNP leaders Amanullah Aman and Nazimuddin Alam were,
among others, present at the briefing. (source)