Bangladesh: NCP, Jamaat accuse Yunus administration of siding with BNP for upcoming polls

Dhaka: As political tensions continue to mount ahead of the February elections, the radical Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizens Party (NCP) have accused sections of the civil administration under the Yunus regime of working in favour of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), local media reported.

Jamaat, during a meeting of the party’s central executive council, stated that conditions for a free, fair, and neutral election remain absent in the country, Bangladesh’s leading newspaper, The Daily Star, reported.

“Allegations are coming in from different areas that some government officials within the administration are working in favour of a particular party. In various parts of the country, political leaders and activists are still being killed in broad daylight,” said a press release issued by Jamaat’s central publicity department.

The party called for strict measures to ensure full neutrality of the administration and urged the Election Commission (EC) and law enforcement agencies to perform their duties without partisan bias.

The NCP Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary, speaking at a Dhaka University rally, alleged that the civil administration had started “leaning towards a specific party, the BNP.”

“When Tarique Rahman arrived in Bangladesh, we welcomed him. But we saw government officials leaving their offices to greet him by the roadside,” The Daily Star quoted the NCP leader as saying.

Additionally, the scales are tilting in favour of the BNP with opinion polls now predicting a landslide victory in the upcoming elections.

Last month, the polls suggested a close fight between the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. However, the BNP has surged past the Jamaat with 70 per cent of the people, saying they would vote for the party headed by the late Khaleda Zia.

The Jamaat only has 19 per cent of the people’s support, and this is a clear indicator that the margins are huge.

The newly formed NCP has the support of 2.9 per cent of the population, according to an opinion poll conducted by the Eminence Associates for Social Development (EASD).

Bangladesh’s elections scheduled for February 12 are unfolding amid escalating political tensions, with rifts widening across party lines.

IANS