In response to UN chief’s remarks that the Dec 30 elections were not perfect, ruling Awami League General Secretary Obaidur Quader has said flawless elections are not possible anywhere in the world.
“Can any country claim that they have held a perfect election?” he asked while speaking to the media on Sunday (Jan 20).
At a press briefing on Friday at the UN headquarters in New York, Secretary-General António Guterres said it was “obvious” that the elections were not perfect.
“… we encourage the different areas of the Bangladeshi political sphere to engage in meaningful forms of dialogue in order for the political life in Bangladesh to be as positive as possible,” he said in response to a query.
Describing Guterres’ calls for dialogue as an “observation”, Quader said on Sunday that talks are a natural thing all democratic countries.
“Political parties should continue the dialogue. And that’s why an observation was made. The UN did not mean talks over the recently held polls,” he said.
Ruling out any dialogue over the 11th National Election, Quader said, “How did (BNP General Secretary) Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir win, if the polls were not fair?”