‘No need for dialogue on EC now, will sit if necessary'

During a meet-the-press at the Bangladesh Secretariat in the morning, he said: “I, for sure, want exchanges of dialogues over the issue (EC reconstitution). However, I don’t think any dialogues is necessary right now.” “But, we will hold dialogues with them (BNP) if it becomes a national issue,” he said while replying to a follow-up query on the matter. The tenure of present Election Commission will expire in mid-February, 2017. Members of Bangladeshi civil society, foreign interest groups, donors, and different political parties have been calling on the government to form a constitution-mandated search body immediately to find replacements of the current commissioners. He also hinted that Awami League-led government is mulling to follow strictly the same constitutional procedure it adopted back in 2012, when the incumbent Election Commission was constituted. "The new Election Commission will be formed as per the constitution under the president’s guidance like it was formed in 2012. We (Awami League) have nothing to do with it. And we won't have any issue with it and hoping BNP won't have either," Quader, also the Roads, Transport and Bridges minister, said during the Q&A. Mocking the BNP for their apparent overzealous interest on the matter, he said: "I do not understand why BNP is so scared. They do not know how to overcome the fear."