The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Sunday criticised the plan to hold the national election in April, describing it as an ‘imprudent’ and ‘irrational’ decision.
The party senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi made the comment while speaking at a food distribution event organised by the Jatiyatabadi Van and Rickshaw Sramik Dal in the capital.
‘People believe the decision to hold the election in April is unwise and an ill-considered one,’ he said.
He said that chief adviser Muhammad Yunus’s announcement regarding the election in early April raises serious concerns about both motive and timing.
‘Why is the chief adviser speaking of holding the election in April based on the words of just one or two individuals or political parties? April is a month of intense heat, storms and rainfall. It is also when the SSC and other public examinations take place,’ the BNP leader said.
At that time, he noted, Eid-ul-Fitr will have just concluded. ‘If the election is held in April, campaigning would have to take place during Ramadan. How can one campaign while fasting? Will people observe their fasts or run election campaigns?’
Rizvi alleged that the interim government had pitted democracy against reform.
He said that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Sheikh Hasina both dreamt of remaining in power indefinitely.
The BNP leader said that questions were now being raised as to whether the interim government is harbouring the same ambition.
He accused the Awami League of systematically eroding democratic institutions over the past 15–16 years. ‘People of this country have been denied their right to vote. Elections have been rigged, and Sheikh Hasina has crushed the sanctity of free and fair elections.’
The BNP leader said that democracy fundamentally relied on free and fair elections. ‘People must have the right to disagree and to choose their leaders freely. That is what elections are about.’
Rizvi reiterated BNP’s demand for the election to be held in December, which he described as a more suitable time for voting.
