The BNP, whose mayoral candidates in Dhaka and Chittagong city corporations pulled out of the polls midway, has asked its candidates to stay put in the election race until the end.
A highly placed source in the party told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Joint Secretary General Mohammad Shahjahan have held a meeting to devise strategies on the municipality polls slated for December 30.
A BNP delegation is meanwhile likely to go to the Election Commission to place some demands, which include retention of candidature of party candidates whose nominations were scrapped on wrong information.
The BNP will also file a complaint about police harassment of its candidates.
The Fakhrul-Shajahan meeting at party Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office yesterday discussed forming division-wise election coordination committees – besides a central one – to monitor the elections.
Two committees will be formed for regular media briefing and another to keep contact with the EC on a regular basis.
“Around a dozen committees will be formed to oversee the municipality polls,” a senior leader told the Dhaka Tribune, requesting anonymity.
The leader said seniors have advised BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to hold a press conference before the municipality polls to present the overall situation of the country.
“We have taken this election as a political challenge. We will fight until the end and it is the responsibility of the Election Commission to ensure a level-playing field for all,” Mohammad Shahjahan said.
He also urged the commission not to force the BNP-backed candidates to quit the polls and not to intensify the ongoing political crisis further.
On Sunday, Election Commissioner Shah Nawaz told journalists that they would create a congenial atmosphere so that none would be forced to quit the polls. He, however, also said if anyone quits the polls voluntarily, the EC will have nothing to do about it.
The BNP-backed mayoral candidates quit the Dhaka and Chittagong city corporation elections midway through the polls alleging vote rigging and illegal ballot stuffing though the commission claimed that the election was free and fair.
Another senior leader said the BNP received huge criticism inside and outside the country for boycotting the city polls halfway and many said it was a wrong decision for the party.
The leader said the municipality election is very important as a discussion on national election is going on. “If vote rigging takes place, it will prove once again that fair election is not possible under this government and the commission. The party will then strenghten the demand for a national election under a non-partisan government.”
The associated and front organisations of the BNP also asked its followers to work for the party-backed candidates in the polls.
Meanwhile, the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal has sent letters to the district, upazila and municipality committees to work for the party-backed candidates.
About the rebel candidates, Shahjahan, who is authorised to nominate party candidates, said they do not have many rebel candidates and therefore are not concerned about it.
