The BNP has called a dawn-to-dusk shutdown in Dhaka for Sunday (Feb 2) rejecting the results of the elections to the Dhaka North and South city corporations, which it has described as a 'farce'.
Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the announcement during a media call at the party’s Naya Paltan headquarters around 8pm on Saturday (Feb 1).
"A day-long shutdown will be observed on Sunday in the capital protesting the widespread vote-rigging and irregularities in Dhaka South and North city corporations.
"We outright reject the polls," he added.
The senior BNP leader said they would observe a 'peaceful' shutdown to protect the rights of Dhaka voters.
"Ambulance, pharmacies and food shops will remain out of the purview of the shutdown," Fakhrul added.
On the poll's results, Fakhrul said, "Our fear has come true. Like the previous elections, the government has used Election Commission [EC] and state mechanism to win the [Dhaka] polls.
"They (government) have used the EC as its puppet," he alleged.
Fair polls are not possible with the Awami League in government, Fakhrul said before describing the EC as an incapable entity.
"There is no sign that they [EC] can administer a fair election [in the future]," he added.
The last time BNP called a shutdown was nearly four years ago.
The party called a strike on Dec 13, 2017, protesting the price hike of daily essentials, according to BNP chairperson's media wing member Shairul Kabir Khan.