Senior Awami League (AL) leaders said the party should take lessons from the Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) poll and plan for the next general election early next year.
“We should take lessons from the GCC poll. We’ve to identify our mistakes for which the voters have rejected the AL-backed candidate,” Senior Awami League (AL) leader Tofail Ahmed said. Talking to the BBC on Saturday night, Tofail, also member of the AL advisory council said, “Awami League is an old party. Although time is very short, we’ll try hard to restore our good image and project our government’s success to the countrymen to win the next general election,” he said.
However, Tofail said that the GCC election had showed that free, fair and credible elections are possible under the management of the present government.
He also iterated that the next general elections would be held under the AL-led Grand Aliance government.
Communications Minister Obaidul Quader on Sunday said that the party would probe the defeat in the Gazipur City Corporation election. He was speaking to reporters at his office in the Bangladesh Secretariat.
The 14-party backed mayoral candidate, Azmot Ullah Khan, lost to the 18-party backed candidate, Prof. MA Mannan, by a huge margin on Saturday.
The communications minister said the ruling party had lost peoples’ trust and confidence. “People didn’t cast their votes in our favour, but we’ve accepted the mandate and didn’t try to change the result forcibly,” he added. Quader added that the opposition’s allegations of rigging had been proved false. He, however, said that the party would start soul-searching and take lessons from the defeat.
The minister further said that after the nineties it was found that people have rejected those who are in power and run the election. “It’s a negative approach and we’ve to set a positive trend,” he added.
Replying to a question, the minister said that people could break any fort, irrespective of its power.
Asked whether the civic polls would have any negative impact on the national election, Quader said it was too early to comment. “The party has enough time to rectify its mistakes. The strategy for the next election must be determined, keeping in mind as to how the people’s confidence can be regained,” he added.
Speaking about the election results, Awami League organising secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim said that the AL-backed candidate was defeated as the people of the area were misguided by local businessmen. He added that that the AL is an old party and it would amend its flaws and continue to work for democracy.
-With The Independent input
