The government has strongly rejected the joint statement of six international civil society organisations that called for a fresh election in Bangladesh after releasing the political prisoners.
In a statement on Saturday, the foreign ministry also described the call as ‘‘biased and unjustified’ and the allegations of irregularities as ‘false and baseless’; and claimed that the elections were free, fair, credible and peaceful.
“The preposterous calls for a fresh election do not commensurate with the acclamation poured on the government by the international community for conducting free, fair, credible and peaceful elections,” said the ministry.
It also noted that the 12th national parliament election took place in a very free, fair, transparent, festive atmosphere and with the large participation of the people. The voter turnout was as high as 70 per cent in many rural constituencies, but the national average was 41.8 per cent or nearly 42 per cent due to comparatively lower turnout in the urban areas.
The statement has an ulterior motive to encourage anti-democratic and anti-election forces that made their ill attempts to thwart the elections
According to the foreign ministry, the independent election commission conducted the polls very effectively and efficiently. Despite challenges due to the unleashing of violence by the BNP in the lead up to the election, the polling day unfolded with an unprecedented level of peace, marked by only a few isolated incidents at a few polling centres.
Many international election observers and journalists, who actively reported on the elections from the field, attested to this truth.
“The law enforcing agencies responded to the incidents of violence with restraint, proportionality and in adherence to legal boundaries. There were no arrests on political ground. Those who hurled petrol bombs on people and vehicles, set people on fire, killed and injured people and disrupted public life to subvert the elections were arrested under specific allegations. These measures were deemed necessary to uphold the rule of law and protect the rights of all citizens,” read the statement.
Terming the joint statement as misleading, one-sided and unacceptable, the foreign ministry smelled a different motive, saying, “It has been issued with an ulterior motive to encourage anti-democratic and anti-election forces that made their ill attempts to thwart the elections.”
On Friday, the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Asian Democracy Network (ADN), Capital Punishment Justice Project (Australia) and Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) issued the joint statement, expressing deep concern over the 12th national polls in Bangladesh.
They noted that the election was neither fair nor competitive. It also gave rise to the serious questions as to whether the polls took place in accordance with democratic values and international electoral standards.