BNP lauds unity efforts, asks EC to drop EVM scheme

The principal opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has highly appreciated Jaukta (United) Front's efforts to forge a national unity.

The party on Wednesday also urged the election commission (EC) to shelve its plan to amend the Representation of the People Order (RPO) for paving the way for use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the next parliamentary polls.

BNP standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain apprciated United Front and Gano Forum for their initiative to get united for securing a free and fair election.

"Before going to jail, our leader Khaleda Zia called for a national unity. We're now happy as there's a good progress in the process of forging the national unity," UNB quoted him as saying.

Speaking at a discussion, the BNP leader further said, "We congratulate those parties out of the 20-party alliance working for forging the national unity to hold a neutral and credible election under a non-party impartial administration."

Swadhinata Forum, a pro-BNP platform, arranged the programme at the National Press Club.

Mosharraf, a BNP standing committee member, said their party wants a fair election with the participation of all parties.

He said AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury-led Jukta Front and Kamal Hossain's Gano Forum are focusing on the issues for which their parties have long been working to hold the next polls in an acceptable manner.

The BNP leader hoped that the national unity efforts by B Chowdhury, Kamal Hossain, ASM Abdur Rab and Mahmudur Rahman Manna will help 'restore democracy', people's voting rights and install a pro-people government in the country.

"The national unity will pave the way for waging a simultaneous movement to save people from the current autocratic regime," he observed.

Mosharraf alleged that the government is hatching various conspiracies to obstruct the national unity process. "We're happy as the national unity is being forged braving all the odds and obstacles."

Speaking at the programme, Nagorik Oikya convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna said the current parliament must be dissolved and the election must be held under a non-party neutral administration to ensure the participation of all parties in the 11th parliamentary polls.

"We'll join the polls realising our all demands, and democracy will win such an election. I'm waiting for the nice day when thousands of people will take to the streets to celebrate the fall of the autocratic regime," he added.

On Tuesday night, the leaders of Jukta Front and Gano Forum at a meeting at Kamal Hossain's residence agreed to forge a national unity ahead of the general election.

BNP leader Mosharraf also warned that the EC will have to be accountable to people if it does not back off from such move.

"We would like to clearly say that we won't accept the use of EVMs in the 11th parliamentary elections. We call upon the election commission to refrain from its evil efforts to use the EVMs and amend the RPO," he said.

Mosharraf alleged that the government has taken the evil plan to use the EVMs in 100 constituencies to rig votes as it has got isolated from people.

He also questioned as to why the EC has suddenly taken the move for using the EVMs while most political parties during the talks with the commission opposed its use in the national election.

Mosharraf said the ruling party is unwilling to hold fair and transparent polls as it knows most ministers and MPs will lose their security deposits if people can exercise their right to franchise.

"We think the move to amend RPO and use EVMs was taken with a motive to prolong the current unwritten one-party Baksal rule," he observed.

Earlier, at a press conference at the party's Nayapaltan central office, BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said the EC's decision of using EVMs is ill-motivated one.

"The election commission is planning to use the controversial EVMs in the next polls against people's will as it's working at the behest of the government," he alleged.

Referring to newspaper reports, Rizvi said the opposition parties in India two days back urged their election commission not to use EVMs in their election as such electronic system can be manipulated.

He said the EC is trying to use the EVMs in the next polls to create a scope for election engineering.