The visiting UN assistant secretary-general for political affairs, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, yesterday requested Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury to facilitate the proposed dialogue between ruling and opposition parties in the Jatiya Sangsad.
The request came when the special envoy heading a five-member UN delegation met Chaudhury at her parliament office to discuss issues related to holding the next parliamentary polls and possible dialogue between the government and opposition benches.
Chaudhury told Taranco she would play the role of facilitator, provided the two fronts agreed to discuss issues related to the polls in the House.
“He [Taranco] discussed with me how the next general elections could be held in a free and fair way. They [the UN] think Speaker is a very important post. [So] the Speaker can play due role in holding the dialogue,” she told the Dhaka Tribune after the meeting.
Ban Ki-moon’s representative said the contrasting views of the Awami League-led alliance and the BNP-led opposition should be settled through dialogue, not through confrontation.
The Speaker said parliament was a place where both the treasury and the opposition benches, as elected representatives, enjoyed equal rights.
Taranco did not comment on his meetings with the Speaker, or with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad in the evening.
The Speaker said there was no alternative to polls in a democracy. “The chief election commissioner or the commissioners are not important for an election; the structure of the election regime is important,” a press statement issued by the parliament’s public relations wing, quoted the Speaker as saying.
Chaudhury said once the two parties sat at a negotiating table, the problems would be settled through discussion.
After his meeting with Taranco, the CEC told reporters the UN delegation was satisfied with the EC’s preparations for holding the next general elections.
“We informed them about our activities regarding the voter list update, delimitation of the parliamentary constituencies and holding the city corporation polls,” he said.
The CEC also said the EC would meet again with all political parties including the main opposition BNP, which boycotted the previous meeting with the current EC, as the dialogue with the parties was a continuous process.
“Everybody is watching the EC’s actions. The EC wants to hold elections in a free, fair and neutral manner. They [the BNP] will be convinced by our activities and take part in the elections,” he said.
Tarancoalso met with a delegation from Jamaat-e-Islami at a city hotel yesterday evening, where they discussed several issues including the ongoing war crimes trial, the current political situation and the next general elections, according to a Jamaat leader.
Jamaat’s Assistant Secretary General Abdur Razzak and law affairs secretary Jasim Uddin Sarkar attended the meeting.
Yesterday morning, Tarancomet with several heads of foreign missions in Dhaka. The UN special envoy also had a series of meetings on Saturday with top tier politicians, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, to advocate a compromise so as to create a positive environment for participatory, free, fair and credible elections.
