Rejecting the schedule for the tenth national elections, the BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance announced a 48-hour countrywide blockade from this morning and demanded suspension of the schedule until parties reached a consensus over the polls-time government.
The blockade will start at 6am on Tuesday and end at 6am Thursday, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, on behalf of 18-party alliance, while announcing the programme at party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office last night.
He said primarily a blockade programme had been announced; in future other tougher movement would come.
A senior leader seeking anonymity told the Dhaka Tribune that they might announce hartal for Thursday depending on the “attitude” of the administration during the 48-hour countrywide blockade.
He also said there would be no hartal-like programmes on Friday and Saturday, but five- day non-stop hartal or blockade could be enforced from Sunday.
However, BNP would continue the process of negotiation with the government for a settlement on the polls time arrangement, he said.
Sources said on Monday Fakhrul phoned Ashraf several times but failed to get him. He sent a person to Ashraf to convey his message and Ashraf told him that he would contact Fakhrul later.
On Saturday, Fakhrul held a “secret” meeting with the Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam and reportedly requested the government to stop announcing election schedule before settling their dispute. In reply, Ashraf told Fakhrul that election process and dialogue could go simultaneously.
Mirza Fakhrul at a rally on November 22 threatened to paralyse the country the moment Election Commission announced polls schedules without settling the issue of non-partisan government.
While briefing the media moment after the polls schedule was announced, Fakhrul said: “We are rejecting the polls schedule announced by the backboneless and partisan Election Commission.” He said the schedule aimed at staging “a farcical election [for the government] to stay in power in a bid to steal people’s right to vote defying their expectations, international communities’ repeated calls and opposition’s demands.”
The BNP spokesperson said: “We want to participate in a highly contested election participated by all parties under a non-party government. We want a meaningful election.”
He urged people not be involved in the farcical polls in any form.
Meanwhile, BNP devised a plan to make their agitation “more meaningful” this time in the capital splitting it into eight zones giving responsibility to senior leaders to coordinate agitation.
A senior leader said the party planned to launch “strong agitation” on at least 40 strategic points on the highways across the country.
A senior leader said the 40 strategic points would be on those routes that connected the capital with the other divisional headquarters, namely Chittagong, Khulna, Barisal, Sylhet, Rajshahi and Rangpur. Initially, the plan is to block those 40 points; but as people’s participation increases, more similar strategic points will be included in the plan, said sources adding eight separate teams, headed by the senior leaders, would keep a close watch on these points.