Jatiya Party (JP) chairman HM Ershad has complained that a congenial atmosphere for holding free, fair and credible elections in the country is absent.
“No level playing field has been created yet. You can ask me — is there any level playing field in the country for holding a credible election? Deputy commissioners, superintendents of police and even doctors have been divided into two sides. There had never been any level playing field in the country. Polls would never be fair under such circumstances,” he told reporters at his Banani office in the capital on Tuesday.
Replying to a query as to why he was participating in the elections under such circumstances, he replied, “Let us try… if the elections are held in a credible way.”
The former army chief and military ruler, replying to a question, stated, “If the army is given magistracy power, it may be possible to make the elections a little fairer.”
He further alleged that the Election Commission (EC) was yet to create a congenial atmosphere for the polls. “It would be difficult to participate in the elections,” the former president said.
Ershad also requested the EC to reschedule the dates for submission of nomination papers. The JP chief said, “The EC has announced the schedule for elections without holding discussions with my party. It thought that there are only two parties in the country and the JP was no longer a political party. We are represented in Parliament as one of the major parties. I request the EC to reschedule the submission dates of nomination papers, keeping the election date as it is.”
In an oblique reference to the main Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Ershad said, “We have made preparations for the elections. I don’t know whether the elections would be held in a credible manner. You (the BNP) did not respond despite my repeated requests. A party cannot exist if it boycotts the election. The JP had taken part in the elections even though bars were imposed by the Awami League.”
Uprooting railway tracks and killing people cannot be the language of protest, he said, referring to the BNP-led alliance, adding, “The best protest would be to participate in the elections. Please join the elections.” The JP chief urged the main Opposition BNP to participate in the elections, shunning the path of violence and killings.
“It is a universal truth that one cannot hold power forever,” the JP chief further said, adding, “Is it the system to allow someone to hold on to power forever at any cost? This is not the way.”
Earlier, on Monday, chief election commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad announced that the 10th general elections will be held on January 5. The last date for submission of nomination papers is December 2, scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on December 5 and 6, and the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers is December 13.
-With The Independent input
