BNP resolute on demand for elections by December

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has reiterated its proposal of holding the next national parliamentary election by December this year. The decision was made during a meeting of the party’s Standing Committee on Friday night. The meeting was presided over by BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman, who joined virtually from London.

Following the meeting, senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi issued a press release to the media, outlining the party’s stance on the election.

Earlier on Friday evening, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus delivered a televised address to the nation, stating that the upcoming general election would be held on any day in the first half of April next year.

The BNP standing committee discussed the chief adviser’s speech during its meeting. It was stated in the meeting that holding the election in early April could pose challenges due to both weather conditions and the overlap with the holy month of Ramadan, potentially creating a situation that may be used as a pretext to delay the election. Besides, the chief adviser in his speech failed to present any specific reason as to why elections could not be held by December.

The press release stated that although the people achieved a significant victory through the mass uprising of students and citizens in July–August 2024, the unnecessary delay in scheduling the election has caused public frustration and anger. Taking into account Ramadan, secondary and higher secondary level examinations, as well as weather conditions, the committee reaffirmed its proposal that the election be held by December.

While the non-partisan and neutral interim government speaks of building a consensus, the way it’s calling its own neutrality into question by being heavily influenced by a particular political group to ignore the opinions of the majority of political parties can make the public justifiably concerned about the possibilities of a free and fair election, the committee added.

Upon reviewing the chief adviser’s speech to the nation, the BNP standing committee unanimously expressed the view that, although it was delivered on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, the address extended far beyond that context.

The speech touched on issues such as ports and corridors—subjects which, in his own words, do not fall within the scope of the three mandates assigned to the interim government. The committee also expressed its dismay at what it described as a breach of political decorum in the language used during his address.