Bangladesh Nationalist Party standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed on Friday said that the party will send letters to the interim government and the Election Commission seeking changes in certain parts of the Representation of the People Order (Amendment) Ordinance.
He made the remark while talking to journalists at his Gulshan residence in the capital regarding the RPO amendment ordinance that was approved by the council of the advisers on Thursday.
He said, 鈥楧uring discussions between political parties and the EC, we reached consensus on many issues related to electoral reforms.聽 But the draft of the election code of conduct and the RPO submitted by the EC through the law ministry include changes that BNP did not agree on.鈥�
Salahuddin said that the new provision requiring alliance candidates to contest with their own party symbols would discourage smaller political parties from forming alliances.
鈥楴either the smaller parties nor we agreed to this. We don鈥檛 know why the EC proposed it unilaterally,鈥� he said, adding that they had sought our opinion on the draft ordinance, and we provided it.
鈥楾he BNP wants a vibrant, multi-party parliament. For the sake of a fair election, I urge the authorities to reconsider this matter.鈥�
He further said, 鈥榃e agree with most of the proposed amendments to the RPO ordinance but we never agreed on this issue of electoral symbols 鈥� that alliance members cannot contest with a common symbol.鈥�
鈥業 think the provision should be reconsidered in the interest of fair politics and fair elections. We have conveyed this to the authorities and will send formal letters to both the EC and the law adviser,鈥� he added.
The BNP leader also said that the BNP had agreed to introduce a 鈥榥o vote鈥� option in constituencies with single candidates to ensure that no one can win uncontested.
Salahuddin also expressed the hope that their party鈥檚 acting chair Tarique Rahman would return home by November this year.
Asked about Tarique鈥檚 possible constituencies in the next national election, he said he would surely contest the election as he himself had already said in an interview and he can contest from any seat in Bangladesh.
On whether Khaleda Zia will take part in the upcoming election, Salahuddin said, 鈥榃e hope our leader Begum Khaleda Zia will decide based on her health condition. We definitely want her to contest the polls.鈥�
He also said that the party would give the green signal to its candidates in 200 constituencies within this month.
Responding to a question about a possible alliance with the National Citizen Party, Salahuddin said that political discussions were going on, but no formal decision had been made yet.
鈥榃e are still having discussions. Let鈥檚 wait and see how things move forward,鈥� he said.
Earlier the interim government council of advisers on Thursday endorsed amendments to the Representation of the People Order 1972.
The amendments included incorporating provisions for 鈥榥o vote鈥� against a single candidate and the use of respective party symbol instead of a common one for any electoral alliance in the Jatiya Sangsad elections.
They also included a clause disqualifying anyone declared a fugitive by a court from contesting the JS polls and another clause dropping all provisions related to the electronic voting machine, a controversial device introduced by the previous government.
