Former military dictator and Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad on Monday said his party would not participate in the next national elections unless all political parties, including the BNP, took part.
Ershad also said his party would not also contest the elections if Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina headed the interim government to oversee the polls because the election would not be free and fair under Hasina.
Speaking at a press conference at the party’s Banani office, he also trashed media reports that the Jatiya Party would take part in the election with the ruling Awami League-led alliance as “rumours.”
He also protested the “misleading” reports about a party delegation’s meeting with the prime minister and her party representatives on October 20.
Claiming the whole thing was merely a rumour, Ershad urged the media to bring out the “truth.”
Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam had told the media on Sunday that the Jatiya Party had agreed to participate in the upcoming polls as part of the 18-party alliance at the meeting.
“The grand alliance has remained intact. We will contest the election from the alliance,” Ashraf had said, adding: “If other political parties do not participate in the elections, we will decide whether to go to elections as an alliance or separately.”
Ershad said Ashraf’s claim had surprised him. He termed the Awami League general secretary’s statement “untrue, baseless, and unfortunate.”
Senior Awami League leaders, while contacted, refused to comment on Ershad’s remarks.
After the Jatiya Party chairman’s press conference, AL Presidium member Kari Zafarullah told reporters that he was not aware why Ershad took such a decision.
“Ershad frequently changes his stands. Jatiya Party secretary general was also there when Syed Ashraful Islam was briefing reporters on Sunday. Then why Ershad has made such remarks today is not clear to me,” the AL leader said.
