The Awami League advisory council member, Tofail Ahmed, said on Saturday that the Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) election shows that the Opposition’s demand for a caretaker government to oversee the next general election is “illogical”. “The present Election Commission is not like the one headed by Aziz. All elections under this EC have been held fairly and peacefully. So, the next general elections will also be held under the management of the present EC in a free, fair and credible manner,” Tofail said while addressing a press conference.
The press conference was held at Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Dhanmondi political office to counter the “falsehood” being spread by BNP leaders.
The senior Awami League leader alleged that the BNP was spreading lies about the GCC poll that it was not held properly, the AL was exerting influence to turn the results in its favour and so on. “But the reality is that the poll proves that the Opposition’s charges are false, fabricated and politically motivated,” he added.
The BNP is doing this to bolster its claim that a fair general election will not be possible under the Hasina administration.
The AL leader criticised the BNP’s acting secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, for giving false information to the nation regarding the GCC poll and Kishoreganj by-election.
At a separate press conference at the party’s Dhanmondi office, the Awami League’s joint general secretary, Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif, brought the same charges against the BNP.
“We have been informed that the GCC election has been held peacefully and in a fair manner. This once again shows that credible elections are possible under the present government,” he said.
He too accused the BNP acting secretary general of providing false information regarding the GCC poll to mislead the nation. “But people know by now that free, fair and credible elections are possible under the Hasina administration,” he said.
The Awami League leader, however, called upon the GCC mayoral candidates, as well as his party leaders and workers, to accept the election results, whatever they are, for the continuation of democracy in the country.
-With The Independent input
