The people were not able to exercise their franchises in the general election held in December 2018, says Workers’ Party of Bangladesh chief Rashed Khan Menon.
“I have been elected in the last National Election. But still, I am saying that the people couldn’t vote. That was the case as well for the elections to the Upazila and Union councils afterwards,” he said at the party’s council in Barishal on Saturday (Oct 19).
Menon’s Workers’ Party is an ally in the ruling Awami League-led 14-party Alliance. The veteran left-wing politician has served as member of the Sheikh Hasina-led cabinet between late 2013 until the last general election.
Hasina, who has always included representatives from the Awami League’s allied parties in her administration, did not pick any of them as her new cabinet colleagues while forming the government after the 11th national election.
Addressing his party’ council, Menon came down hard on the prime minister. “You and I have struggled together re-establish the people’s right to vote … And now the people can’t vote in local and national elections?”
The benefit of development is not reaching to the people as corruption has increased neck to neck with it, he said before adding: “Development doesn’t mean quashing democracy and difference of opinion or squeezing democratic space.”