Senior BNP leader Nazrul Islam Khan on Monday said the party sees no reason to wait beyond December for the 13th national election as the Election Commission is ready to conduct it after June.
“We do not see any obstacle to holding the elections by December since the Election Commission has said they will be ready by June,” he said while talking to reporters after a meeting with the Labour Party at the BNP chairperson’s office in Gulshan.
Nazrul, a BNP standing committee member, said the Consensus Commission has informed them that it expects to reach a consensus on reforms by mid-May through discussions with political parties, paving the way for the drafting of a national charter.
“Then I see no reason to wait longer than December for the election after the necessary reforms are completed,” he said.
The BNP leader said if any party disagrees with the BNP’s position, they should explain why additional time should be necessary.
As part of the BNP’s ongoing dialogue with parties and alliances involved in the movement against the Awami League government, Nazrul and fellow BNP Standing Committee Member Selima Rahman held a one-hour meeting with a seven-member delegation of the Labour Party, led by its chairman, Mostafizur Rahman Iran.
The BNP formally began this new round of political talks with a meeting on Saturday with the 12-party alliance, aimed at sharing the outcome of the BNP’s recent meeting with Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus and deciding on its next steps.
On April 16, a seven-member BNP delegation led by Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir met the chief adviser at the state guest house Jamuna, urging him to provide a specific roadmap to ensure the national election is held by December.
Following the meeting, Fakhrul expressed disappointment as Yunus reiterated that the election would take place between December and June instead of offering a clear roadmap.
