BNP leaders have called prime-minister Sheikh Hasina’s speech on the 11th national parliamentary election ‘trite’.
Saying that there’s nothing new in the speech, BNP leaders said that they will participate in the next election.
If Sheikh Hasina relinquishes the prime minister’s post, participation of all parties will be possible, they said.
On Wednesday, the prime minister said at a press conference held at Gonobhaban, “Election will be held; there are many political parties in the country and we cannot decide who will join the polls and who will not.”
BNP vice chairman, Shamsuzzaman Dudu, said, “We want to thank the PM because she spoke of a participatory election; but she has to ensure that all parties can take part.”
The prime minister amended the constitution and struck out the provision for care-taker government system, now she has to settle this issue, observed the BNP leader.
“The prime minister is the main impediment to holding a participatory election, if she steps down, all hurdles for other parties to join the election will be removed.”
BNP’s seven-point demands include: release of Khaleda Zia and withdrawal of all false cases, resignation of the government, dissolution of parliament, formation of a poll time government by talking to all parties, deployment of army with magistracy power, release of all political prisoners etc.
The Jukto Front and Jatiya Oikko have similar demands, asking for level playing field and deployment of army one month before national elections till the tenth day after the polls.
One of our main demands is the removal of the executive power of the prime minister, along with the re-formation of the election commission and the formation of a neutral caretaker government, said BNP vice chairman, Barkatullah Bulu.
BNP’s organisational secretary, Ruhul Kuddus Talukder Dulu, said: “the prime minister may talk of all party election, her actions speak otherwise.”
She has formed the election commission with party loyalists and does not pay any heed to demands from other political parties, added the BNP leader.