Awami League chief and Prime Sheikh Hasina cautioned people, including party activists and candidates against a possible withdrawal by the opposition alliance halfway through the voting on Sunday.
According to her, the Jatiya Oikya Front, with the BNP as its largest member, may resort to such ploys to make the election questionable.
Her remarks came on Saturday after emerging from the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka to visit the party’s Dinajpur unit leader Dr Mahbabur Rahman, who received critically injuries in pre-polls violence, reports BSS.
“I want to caution all that there is a character of the BNP-Jamaat that they will say in the middle (of the elections) that we are boycotting the election.
“In this case I will ask our candidates and candidates of other parties to continue polls until its completion”, the state news agency quoted her saying.
“I would like to tell all not to believe if the BNP says in the middle of the polls that we withdraw ourselves from the election (race) and we will not participate in it . . . this is their another game,” said the ruling party chief.
She asked the party representatives and agents to stay in every polling centre until announcement of the results.
“... stay till the last moment of the polls and return home with the results with the signature of the returning officers and presiding officers”.
The prime minister said she was confident that the voting on Sunday (Dec 30) will be held in a free, fair and peaceful manner.
“If we could hold the elections peacefully, I can assure that local and foreign investments will increase further and the country’s economy will be strengthened.”
Lambasting the the BNP and its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami for killing over six Awami League leaders and workers and injuring more than 450 party men in pre-polls violence, she said, “They’re filing complaints against us across the country on the one hand, and on the other, they are launching attacks on our leaders and workers”.