Nation waiting for election to move forward

Investment, business activities, and even personal and family decisions across the country have come to a standstill as people await the national election, said BNP senior leader Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury yesterday.

"People now want emancipation from the current situation through the election… Everyone is saying, 'Let the election happen first, then we'll decide,'" he said while speaking at the launch of a book titled Visionary Recommendations for Building an Advanced Nation of the Future at Dhaka Reporters' Unity.

Khosru, a BNP standing committee member, alleged that a certain group is trying to delay the election despite people's strong desire to vote.

"Those who are working to delay the election are actually against democracy. Can we really believe they stand for democratic values?" he said.

On the issue of the proposed referendum, Khosru said, "The current interim government has taken oath under the existing constitution, which does not allow a referendum before or on the election day. Still, BNP has agreed, out of political tolerance, to consider a referendum on the election day for the sake of harmony and mutual respect."

Khosru said the BNP has already completed much of the groundwork for reforms in key sectors, including administration, policing, and governance, to ensure that if the party receives a mandate to form the government, it can begin implementing its plans from day one.

He said people's expectations are now very high and their patience is running low. "After so many years of misrule, people expect immediate solutions once this regime ends. To meet these expectations, we must be fully prepared from now on so that people do not lose hope."

He also discussed BNP's long-standing proposal for a bicameral legislature, which was first outlined in its Vision 2030 document eight years ago and later reaffirmed by BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman in the party's 31-point reform plan.

"Now, many are talking about the bicameral system as if it is a new idea. But it was BNP that proposed it first, years ago. Others are only now realising its importance," the BNP leader said.