Not mid-term, BNP wants fresh polls

Terming the January 5 parliamentary election “unusual and unfair”, BNP today said their party demands fresh elections, not mid-term ones.

“Different quarters are saying about mid-term election, but BNP does not consider it. A government which is elected systematically with people’s vote arranges such elections either to test its popularity or forced to do it due to internal pressure for its failure or big scandal,” BNP spokesperson Asaduzzaman Ripon said.

Addressing a press briefing at the party’s Nayapaltan central office in Dhaka, Ripon said, “The January-5 [2014] election was not a free and fair one as people could not exercise their voting rights. So, there is no question of mid-term polls. Therefore, BNP demands a fresh election.”

Pointing to Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam’s recent comments that BNP would lose its existence if it does not contest the next election, Ripon said they have been repeatedly saying that the next election has to be held under a non-party administration and they will join it.

Reacting to Ashraf’s remarks, Ripon, also BNP’s international affairs secretary, said, “Politics is like a dream and the political parties are means to materialise it. BNP is a party of crores of people and it will remain always awake for implementing the dreams of its founder Ziaur Rahman. There is no reason for destruction or abolishment of BNP.”

He also said BNP will not only exist but also return to power with people’s support. “The government will surely be forced to accept the demand for holding election under a neutral administration.”

BNP did not make any mistake by or suffered from boycotting the January-5 polls, Ripon claimed, saying: “It is a wrong notion that BNP will not exist if it does not join the next polls.”

Pointing to Ashraf’s remark that Awami League did not boycott polls any time, the BNP spokesperson said the claim is not true.

“Awami League had boycotted 1988 elections, February 15 elections in 1996 and the polls scheduled for January 22, 2007,” he explained.