Movement to continue until resignation of govt: AB Party

Leaders of Amar Bangladesh Party or AB Party on Monday said they would continue their movement to until resignation of the government.

They said this at a black-flag rally on the Bijoy 71 square in Dhaka. The party organised the event protesting the 12th parliamentary elections on ‘Felany Day’ that saw “extremely poor” voter turnout.

“No credible sources on the ground confirmed the voter turnout to have been more than 10 per cent, including some of the paid election observers,” said a media release of the party.

The AB Party also claimed to have gathered field level data through its Election Monitoring Cell from thousands of polling stations across the country, “which suggested 5-7 per cent of voters’ attendance at best, unlike 41 per cent announced by the Election Commission”.

Mojibur Rahman Monju, member secretary of the party, termed the election day as the ‘darkest chapter’ in Bangladesh’s electoral history.

“Overwhelming non-attendance of voters proved that the nation said an outright ‘no’ to the governing party,” said the press release.

It also stated that the “one-sided election” will push the ruling party towards more of an unpopular entity, disconnected from the people.

Professor Abdul Wahab Minar, a retired army major and joint convener of the AB Party, said that the silence of the whole nation should not be read as tacit approval for the ruling party. Citizens must come out of collective fear, reluctance and laziness to speak out against this authoritarian regime.

Asaduzzaman Fuaad, joint member secretary of the AB Party, said, "We have lost our freedom, sovereignty and democracy on the 7 January 2024. To live like dignified citizens of a free country, we must strive for a new chapter of struggle. We must not wait for anyone’s help but make our own non-violent uprising a success. Patriots and freedom-loving people would eventually win."