Election to be cancelled if unfair, Jamaat seeks announcement from Chief Adviser

Jamaat-e-Islami has urged chief adviser professor Muhammad Yunus to declare that the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (national parliamentary) election will be annulled if it is found to be unfair.

Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher, nayeb-e-ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami, disclosed this on Monday at a roundtable, saying that the party had made this appeal during its recent meeting with the chief adviser.

The roundtable, titled “Inclusive and Fair National Election: Citizens’ Expectations from Political Parties”, was attended by leaders of various political parties, including Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed.

The event was organised jointly by ActionAid Bangladesh and Prothom Alo, and took place at the Prothom Alo office in Karwan Bazar, Dhaka.

Abdullah Mohammad Taher said that during the meeting with the chief adviser, Jamaat proposed that discussions be held with mainstream political parties. In those discussions, the government would pledge to ensure a fair election, while the political parties would commit to refraining from violating the electoral code of conduct. The commitments would be broadcast on television for the nation to witness.

“If, despite this, the election is not free and fair, the chief adviser should tell the nation that the election will be annulled and a new one will be held,” he said, adding that if any irregularities occur through anyone’s actions, the people themselves will respond.

The interim government has announced that the 13th parliamentary election will be held in February.

Noting that a fair election is possible if political parties are sincere and the administration remains neutral, Abdullah Taher said that Jamaat will “place garlands around the necks” of whoever wins in a fair contest.

He identified the absence of fair elections as one of the main reasons behind the country’s “failures” over the past 54 years.

“The next election must be free and fair. All parties must adhere to the electoral code of conduct. However, the biggest challenge is not merely the public pledges of major parties; they must also exercise self-restraint and bring about change within themselves,” he stated.

Claiming that Bangladesh is facing a crisis of leadership, Taher remarked, “The country has witnessed many struggles and many changes. Yet those who came to power after those changes did not work in harmony with the aspirations of the people. Instead, they engaged in corruption and destructive practices that squandered opportunities for genuine transformation. They created inequality, fostered decay within society, and replaced good governance with bad governance, depriving people of their due.”

However, Jamaat leader Abdullah Taher described the change brought about by the July Uprising as an exception. He noted that around 80 per cent of those who took part in the uprising were farmers, labourers, and day labourers, but that this section of the population has since been neglected.

Responding to a question from the moderator, Taher said Jamaat has not specified how many millions of jobs it would create if it wins the election, but that it will ensure massive employment opportunities if it comes to power.

“This will be possible for two reasons: first, we will give priority to preventing corruption, as corruption is a major cause of poverty; and second, by ensuring good governance and accountability throughout the administration, corruption can be reduced. Jamaat is working for a fundamental transformation,” he said.

Earlier, ActionAid Bangladesh’s Women’s Rights Lead, Morium Nesa, presented recommendations gathered from roundtable discussions held in nine districts. The session was moderated by Farah Kabir, country director of ActionAid Bangladesh.

Participants in the discussion included BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed; Akhter Hossen, member secretary of the National Citizen Party (NCP); Abdullah Kafi Ratan, general secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB); AB Party chairman Mojibur Rahman Monju; Taslima Akhter, president of Garment Workers’ Solidarity; former adviser to the 2007–08 caretaker government Rasheda K Choudhury; professor Kazi Maruful Islam of the University of Dhaka’s Department of Development Studies; Prashanta Tripura, country director of The Hunger Project; Mahrukh Mohiuddin, organiser of the Women’s Political Rights Forum; and Nazifa Jannat, East West University student and former coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.