Bangladesh: Awami League rejects election schedule, accuses Yunus govt of bias

Dhaka: Bangladesh’s Awami League party rejected the election schedule announced by the country’s Election Commission (EC), arguing that free and fair polls cannot be ensured under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.

The remarks came after the EC on Thursday evening declared that the country’s 13th national parliamentary election, along with the July Charter referendum, will be held next year on February 12.

After closely reviewing the election schedule issued by what it called “illegal, occupying, killer-fascist Yunus clique’s illegal Election Commission”, the Awami League in a statement said, “It is now clear that the current occupying authority is entirely biased, and that under their control it is impossible to ensure a fair and normal environment where transparency, neutrality, and the people’s will can be reflected.”

The party alleged that “attempting to hold an election while excluding the Bangladesh Awami League—the party that led the Liberation War—along with other political parties and the majority of the population, is a scheme to push the country and the nation into a deep crisis.”

To prevent the current crisis from escalating, the Awami League demanded that all restrictions imposed on the party must be lifted, all “fabricated cases” against the country’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, political leaders, and people from all walks of life must be withdrawn, and all political prisoners must be released unconditionally.

It added that the “current deceitful occupying government” must be replaced with a neutral caretaker government to hold a free and participatory election.

“Elections are the measure of public popularity. The Awami League is an election-oriented party. The Awami League has the strength, courage, and capacity to stand before the people. Since its founding, the Bangladesh Awami League has taken part in 13 elections, winning 9 of them and forming the government,” the party said, adding that it dismisses the announced schedule that excludes the representatives of the majority of the people of Bangladesh.

IANS