Urging the two major political parties to sway from the path of violence, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad said the parties should reach a shared consensus for holding the next general elections in a free and fair manner.
He said: “Violence is not the language of democracy. The two major political parties should reach to a consensus to run the democratic process in right way.”
He made the call while talking to journalists at the EC secretariat on Sunday afternoon.
Mentioning that no one wants violence, the CEC said: “The people of the country want a free and fair election. So we’ve urged the political parties to sit together and hash out a better solution for holding the next parliamentary election in a free, fair and impartial manner.”
On the EC’s role in initiating the discussions between the ruling Awami League and its opposition BNP, the CEC said it was not the responsibility of the EC as the laws do not give it any corresponding rights.
“The laws only state the right to hold polls,” he added.
When asked about how long the EC would wait for a political consensus to be reached, he said the commission would wait till the last moment.
He said: “If they [Awami League and BNP] reach a decision, the commission would try to reconsider that.”
However, the CEC said the EC did not wait for any of them in announcing the polls schedule, adding that the commission would announce the polls schedule in due time.
Regarding the registration of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, he said: “The registration of Jamaat was illegal as per the High Court verdict.
The verdict would be in effect until any stay order by the Appellate division,” he added.
On the electoral code of conduct, the CEC said they have received suggestions and opinions on the electoral code of conduct. After collecting all suggestions and opinions, they would examine it, he said, adding that many have sent in suggestions which are not related to the electoral code of conduct.
However, he said the commission has finalised the election manual. The commission would include the election directing procedure, electoral code of conduct and the Representation of the People Order (RPO) within a day or two in the election manual.
