BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday said that his party as well as the people do not accept the Election Commission formation bill, passed in parliament as a law.
Speaking at a discussion, the former state minister also said the current parliament has no moral rights and jurisdiction to pass the bill since it was not elected with people’s votes.
He alleged that the bill was passed by the parliament very hastily, and warned that it will not help prevent the fall of the current regime.
"We don’t accept the bill on the Election Commission. This bill is not only unacceptable to us, but also to the people of the country. No one will abide by the bill as it’s not acceptable to people,” Mirza Fakhrul said.
BNP’s Dhaka north and south city units jointly arranged the programme at the Jatiya Press Club marking January 25 as “Baksal and black day of annihilating democracy”, condemning the introduction of one-party rule by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on this day in 1975 to end widespread corruption and improve the lives of the marginalized working class.
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Earlier in the day, parliament passed “Appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners Bill-2022" by voice votes to ensure a legal framework for selecting the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners.
Recalling that Baksal was formed in just 11 minutes in parliament, Fakhrul said the bill was also passed hurriedly after it had been tabled on January 23 and approved by the cabinet on January 17.
“Awami League introduced Baksal that day as part of their efforts to save themselves. They’ve now enacted the Election Commission law thinking that they will survive through it. But they have forgotten that Baksal couldn’t finally protect them. So, the law on the Election Commission can’t protect them ultimately,” the BNP leader said.
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About their party’s position on the next polls, Fakhrul said their party will not join any national election under Sheikh Hasina’s government as they do not want to be caught in the toils of Baksal again.
He said the government must quit and hand over power to a non-party neutral administration which will arrange a credible election by forming the Election Commission in consultations with all political parties. “People’s representatives will be elected through the polls and they will determine how they’ll run the country.”
