The BNP is open to reforms and not afraid of change but it opposes the introduction of unfamiliar electoral concepts that does not align with the country鈥檚 political context or public understanding, said Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday.
He made the remarks at a discussion at the National Press Club in the capital, marking the fifth death anniversary of Jatiyatabadi Swechchhasebak Dal former president Shafiul Bari Babu.
Criticising the proposals to introduce proportional representation in the national election system, he said that people did not even understand what the PR system was and that those who still struggled with EVMs could not be expected to grasp such a complex system.
Fakhrul claimed that promoting such ideas was being pushed by one or two political parties, which risked derailing the democratic process.
He said that some parties were fixated on proportional representation and had made it a condition for participating in elections, which was not practical.
Fakhrul urged the interim government to ensure an election system based on what the people were familiar with.
鈥楨nsure a familiar voting process by which people鈥檚 real representatives are elected to the parliament. That is the only way to resolve the ongoing crisis,鈥� the BNP secretary general said.
He also called for a prompt completion of the proposed reforms, demanding that the election date should be according to the understanding reached in the London meeting between chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and BNP acting chair Tarique Rahman.
Fakhrul welcomed the agreement reached by political parties on 12 key reform issues at the National Consensus Commission.
鈥楾his is a positive development, and I thank Ali Riaz, the vice-chair of the National Consensus Commission, for his tireless efforts and leading his team to reach this stage,鈥� he said.
Earlier, on Tuesday morning, Fakhrul attended an event for the children of enforced disappearance families and a ceremony to honour the families of July uprising martyrs at the Banani Playground in the city, marking the anniversary of the July-August mass uprising.
The event was jointly organised by the groups Amra BNP Poribar and Maayer Dak.
鈥業f the reforms and structural changes we seek do not bring comprehensive progress for people and cannot guarantee a safe and secure life for our children, then I do not believe those reforms will serve any purpose,鈥� he said at the programme.
Fakhrul called on the interim government to stand by the families of the disappeared.
The event was attended by Maayer Dak convener Sanjida Islam Tuli and Amra BNP Poribar convener Atikur Rahman Roman along with leaders from both organisations.
