Jamaat Ameer demands local govt election before JS vote

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman has called upon the election commission to organise the local government elections before the parliamentary elections.

“An election commission has been formed. They said they will hold the best election in the history of the country. We want to see an acid test for them… Hold the local government elections first. Let us see your goodwill and capacity,” he said.

The Jamaat Ameer was addressing as the chief guest at the conference of the workers of the party’s district and town units at Mymensingh circuit house on Friday.

Putting forth the rationale behind his demand, Shafiqur Rahman said the parliamentary election decides who would rule the country for five years but the people have been suffering as they do not have their representatives at various levels of the local government.

The programme started at 9:00 am.

The Jamaat Ameer observed that if people are satisfied with local government elections, then they will extend full support to the election commission. Otherwise they will show the EC a “red card”.

In his nearly 35-minute speech, Shafiqur Rahman called on to ensure proportional representation (PR) in the voting for actual representation in parliament.

He said, “We are hearing, recommendations have been made for a bicameral parliament, upper house, lower house. The lower house will have the main authority; the election for that house will be held following the current system and a PR system has been recommended for the upper house. Why will the PR system not be adopted for the lower house if that is done for the upper house? What’s the necessity of two systems in one country?”

“Sixty-two countries around the world hold elections under the PR system. If they accrue benefits from the system, then who are we to deprive the nation from the advantages of this system?” Jamaat Ameer posed the question.

No recommendation proposed for the benefit of a certain party or quarter will not be accepted, he stated.

The Jamaat Ameer also spoke about the report of the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission.

He said, “The first thing we want to say is, the people who prepared the recommendations do not represent the 95 million women of this country. I feel ashamed even mentioning the place where they want to lead the country. We will not allow them to take the country there, Insha Allah.

“People of this country have a certain culture. Any attack on it will destabilise the whole society, we will not accept that. Our request to the Chief Adviser will be to cancel this without any delay upon returning home,” he reiterated.

“And, if you have to form any such commission, then you will have to include people from all professions, parties and ideologies. Representation of pious women, who have sufficient knowledge in Quran and Hadith, will have to be ensured. Then we will consider whatever comes. But nothing before that,” the Jamaat Ameer categorically said.

Mymensingh town Jamaat Ameer Quamrul Ahsan presided over the programme.