Tofail: Govt expects BNP to join 2018 national elections

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed has said the government expects the BNP to take part in the national parliamentary election, which is to be held in 2018. He made the statement while addressing a press conference about Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) on Sunday. The minister said: “We expect BNP to take part in the national polls forgetting the past. “Like other developed countries, the 2018 election will also be held under the ruling party.” “The Election Commission can hold the polls successfully and they have again proved it in the Rangpur City Corporation election,” he minister. The BNP and its allies boycotted the 2014 general election, demanding restoration of the non-party caretaker government system introduced in the mid-’90s to end electoral violence and fraud. The system was scrapped in 2011 by the Awami League-led government. Sheikh Hasina’s administration also changed the law to allow the incumbent government to oversee elections.