Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Tuesday said the United States awaits statement from the government on how the January 5 elections are going to be held.
Muhith said this after a meeting with US Ambassador Dan Mozena at the secretariat. The finance minister told reporters that during the nearly two-hour meeting the US Ambassador discussed the overall election process, recent violence over the parliamentary polls as well as economic condition of the country and the Grameen Bank issue.
Replying to a query, the finance minister said Mozena asked him about the government’s plans after holding an election where 154 candidates are already being elected uncontested. Muhith said he could not tell the US ambassador anything right now as discussion is going on between the two major parties and the situation will become clearer after the dialogue comes to an end.
Muhith quoted Mozena as saying, “No election will be held in half of the country. We, especially me, are concerned about it… election means casting votes by the people. It is not happening.”
Asked whether the US will feel uncomfortable to work with a government elected in such a way, Muhith said: “I cannot say about this. They are waiting for the government reaction about the current nature of election.”
He said that during the meeting, he had described the Jamaat-e-Islami as a terrorist outfit and stressed banning it. He, however, said that Jamaat should not be banned right now as in that case “this terrorist outfit may go underground.” “Mozena did not disagree with it,” the Finance Minister said when asked about the US stance.
-With The Independent input
