Staff Reporter:
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami wants the proposed referendum on the July National Charter 2025 to be held any day before the next generation election, assistant secretary general AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad said yesterday.
“The latest stance of our eight parties is that the referendum should be held any day before the election,” he said while talking to reporters after a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin.
A two-member Jamaat delegation, led by Azad, met the CEC at the latter’s Nirbachan Bhaban office at 3:30pm yesterday.
Earlier, Jamaat had been demanding for arrangements of the referendum within November 2025. But BNP opposed the demand and asked the government and the Election Commission to hold the referen-dum simultaneously with the national election.
Azad said the CEC told them if the government asks the Election Commission to hold the referendum on a separate day, they will do it.
The Jamaat leader said they will place a formal memorandum before Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Thursday for arrangements of referendum on a separate day.
Explaining the reasons behind the stance, Azad said holding both referendum and the national election on the same day could invite uncertainty over reform.
In response to a question about seat-sharing talks with the National Citizen Party (NCP), Azad said they haven’t started specific discussions on seat allocations with any party including NCP.
During the meeting, Jamaat drew the EC’s attention to some recent incidents to ensure the pre-electoral law and order situation otherwise the situation would go beyond control during the election. “If you can’t control the pre-election environment, then you won’t be able to control it during the election,” he told the EC.
Another delegation member was Jamaat’s publicity and media secretary Matiur Rahman Akanda.
