The Election Commission has pushed back the general election by a week but Gano Forum chief Dr Kamal Hossain’s coalition with the BNP and three other parties, the Jatiya Oikya Front wants the 11th Parliamentary Elections to be held in mid-January.
The polls were initially scheduled for Dec 23, which on Monday was moved to Dec 30.
“The incumbent government’s term expires in late January. We have called for the polls to be delayed by a month, which means the Jatiya Oikya Front wants the voting to be held between Jan 10 and 15,” pro-BNP professionals’ leaders Zafrullah Chowdhury, one of the sponsors of the alliance launched last month.
“We do not demand much; a free and fair election where the people can exercise their franchise,” he told Bangla Tribune on Monday.
The Oikya Front initially had four allies — Gano Forum, BNP, ASM Abdur Rab’s Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) and Nagorik Oikya led by Mahmudur Rahman Manna.
On Nov 5, Kader Siddique, who leads the Krishak Sramik Janata League, announced that his party was on board the coalition.
BNP leader Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, who is a member of its policymaking forum, told Bangla Tribune that the alliance has written to the Commission urging to defer the election by a month.
“Which means we want the election to be held in January,” added Hossain, who sits on the Oikya Front’s Steering Committee.
Nagorik Oikya Convener Manna echoed while speaking to Bangla Tribune on Monday.
The Oikya Front claims that pushing back the polls from Dec 23 to Dec 30 is part of the government’s plot to rig the elections.
According to them, foreign observers, diplomats and representatives of international media will on leave for Christmas on Dec 25 and for the New Year on Dec 31, which will give the ruling party a ‘free pass to rigging’.
“The rescheduled date (for polls) is worse than the previous one as the most of the foreigners will be on leave until Jan 5 ... paving the way for rampant ballot stuffing by the ruling party,” said Zafrullah.
The Oikya Front plans to announce fresh agitations to press the demand for voting in January.
“We will announce programmes after a meeting on Tuesday (Nov 15), if our demand is not accepted. If the government wants then a revised schedule for the polls is very much possible,” JSD chief Rab told Bangla Tribune.
On Monday (Nov 12), the Election Commission has rescheduled the general election. The official order said that the voting will be now held on Dec 30 with deadline for the nomination pushed back to Nov 28 and the last day to withdraw set at Dec 9.
In a televised address to the nation on Thursday (Nov 8), Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda announced the schedule setting Dec 23 as election day.