Civic leaders have expressed fears that the announcement of the polls schedule will deepen the prevailing political crisis and lead to more direct confrontations between the two major parties.
At a time when a dialogue of some sorts was going on between the two parties, the announcement would not only deepen the crisis, but also negatively affect the economy and ultimately the people of the country, some of them have told the Dhaka Tribune.
Senior law professional Rafiq-Ul Huq said the Election Commission should not have announced the schedule at this moment. “A discussion is going on between the two leading parties.
“At such a time, announcing the schedule was not right. There was time till January 24. But because of the announcement, BNP now will surely not take part in the elections and that would lead to an even more critical situation.”
The Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad in a televised nation address on Monday announced the schedules for the tenth parliamentary elections, voting for which would be held on January 5.
He said the Election Commission could not wait any longer for a consensus between the two political parties.
Former adviser to the caretaker government Hossain Zillur Rahman said the announcement of schedule would now put the independence of the commission under question.
“Till on Monday, the CEC had been saying they would wait for a political consensus. But on Tuesday they announced the schedule. This will deepen the political crisis. Questions will now arise regarding the independence of EC. Moreover, there will now also be questions regarding whether the government cares about what the people want,” Zillur said.
Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, said if the opposition did not contest the polls; there would be questions about the possibility of a fair election.
“Now, the opposition party will not go to the elections. If they participate, I will be surprised. The opposition will now try to resist the polls, and the government will try to hold. It could lead to an out-of-control situation,” he said, adding, “The people would be the ultimate victims of the resultant destruction.”
