The newly formed political alliance Jatiya Oikya Front, will be contesting the 11th general elections with BNP’s poll-symbol, “sheaf of paddy.”
Oikya Front leader, Mahmudur Rahman Manna, disclosed the matter after a meeting with the steering committee of the alliance, held at Dr Kamal Hossain's chamber in Motijheel on Thursday.
He said: “All parties with Oikya Front will take part in the elections with a common symbol, and that is a sheaf of paddy.”
Responding to a query about seat sharing, Manna said: “No decision has been held regarding the matter, but we have started talking about it.”
About their standoff with Jukta Front and Awami League regarding the election schedule, he said: “Whenever we meet with the government, everyone including the prime minister says they have nothing to say regarding the Election Commission.
“We have logic for asking the commission to defer elections.”
Manna, also the convener of Nagorik Oikya, said festivity prevails across Europe and America over the New Year and that is when the election is scheduled to be held.
He added: “International observers are scheduled to come, but now, they cannot. It is not a good sign to hold the polls without foreign election observers.”
At the time, Manna also condemned the attacks on BNP activists by the police on Wednesday.
“We think the Election Commission should have been aware of the attack.”
The Oikya Front leader also said: “It is clear that the government is trying to ruin the environment so that the opposition parties fail to take part in the elections.
“We will take part in the elections ignoring all obstacles. The election will see a voting revolution against this autocratic government.”
Chaired by Dr Kamal Hossain, the meeting was attended by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Gono Forum Secretary General Mostofa Mohsin Mintu, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) leader ASM Abdur Rab, and other leaders of the alliance.
Gono Forum writes to CEC over electoral symbol
Gono Forum has submitted a letter regarding the selection of symbols for the upcoming elections.
A letter signed by the party’s general secretary was submitted to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda on Thursday afternoon. Gono Forum Executive President Adv Subrata Chowdhury submitted the letter to the CEC.
The letter read: “Gono Forum is an alliance of Jatiya Oikya Front; they will participate in the upcoming general election with the symbol of a sheaf of paddy. We urge you to take necessary steps regarding the matter.”
After submitting the letter Adv Subrata told reporters: “Jatiya Oikya Front will participate in all 300 constituencies with the “sheaf of paddy” symbol.
When was Jatiya Oikya Front formed?
On October 13, amid many speculations, a new political alliance called Jatiya Oikya Front, led by eminent jurist Dr Kamal Hossain, was formed with major opposition BNP as one of its members.
As its members, Dr Kamal’s Gono Forum, BNP, ASM Abdur Rab-led Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), and Mahmudur Rahman Manna-led Nagorik Oikya, have announced they will work towards shared political goals aimed at ensuring free and fair voting in the 11th general elections.
The alliance, however, does not include Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh, or its President AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury-led Jukta Front, which had initially brought together the aforementioned four parties, showing growing signs of rifts between the political groups.
What are the demands of the alliance?
The front gave a seven point demand and 11-point goals which include the release of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia.
The seven demands of Jatiya Oikya Front include formation of a non-partisan government through discussion with all political parties, after the resignation of the incumbent government and dissolution of parliament to hold a fair election; release of all political prisoners, and withdrawal of false cases filed against opposition leaders and activists.
Their demands also include Election Commission reform with qualified personnel, no use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the next election, withdrawal of false cases filed against students and journalists, and deployment of army personnel with magistracy powers 10 days before the national polls.
When is the election?
On Monday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda announced a fresh schedule for the parliamentary election.
The commission said the polls will now be held on December 30 instead of December 23.
According to the new schedule, the deadline for submitting nomination papers is November 28 instead of November 19.
