Opposition alliance Jatiya Oikya Front will submit a memorandum to the Election Commission calling for a fresh national election, says its leader Dr Kamal Hossain.
His announcement came on Monday (Dec 31) while briefing the media after a meeting of the coalition’s policymaking Steering Committee at the veteran lawyer’s Motijheel offices.
According to people familiar with the discussions held in the meeting, the memorandum will be submitted on Jan 3.
The Awami League is about to form a government for an unprecedented third straight term after winning the election on Sunday (Dec 30). It won 259 of 299 seats while the Grand Alliance it leads won 288 seats.
The BNP, which had boycotted the last general election in 2014 saying it would not be fair, won just five seats while its ally Gano Forum, led by Dr Kamal, won two seats.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Dr Kamal said, “The Election Commission, at the behest of the prime minister, has shown the nation as well as the whole world how the electoral system can be ruined ... This election was the final nail in the coffin for democracy. “
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam, who serves as the spokesperson of the coalition, said that the MP-elects from Oikya Front will not join the parliament.
“There’s no option for taking oath as we have rejected the election and its outcome,” said the BNP leader, who has been elected from Bogura-6 constituency.
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