Staff Reporter:
Information and Broadcasting Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan has said no contesting political party has so far lodged any complain about the environment of coming national election.
The country is moving forward with all preparations for a free, fair and peaceful election amidst a very conducive situation, she said.
Rizwana made the remark while responding to questions from journalists at an exchange of views with Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum (BSRF) at Secretariat Media Center yesterday.
Responding to a question on whether the current situation is conducive to a fair, acceptable and peaceful election, Rizwana Hasan said the issue can be viewed from several perspectives.
One key aspect, she noted, is whether the Election Commission has begun its preparatory work. And those activities are progressing properly, she said.
“The scrutiny of nomination papers is underway, and candidates from different parties are closely moni-toring the process with interest and enthusiasm. If there is any discrepancy anywhere, the parties are rais-ing those issues. As a result, the election process initiated by the Election Commission has already start-ed,” she said.
The adviser further said that the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Information are jointly working to motivate people to participate in the elections. She pointed out the initiatives taken in this regard.
Voting Caravans as well as contesting political parties are engaged in yard meetings, large scale rallies, village-level campaigns and publicity and miking in the constituencies to raise public awareness, she said.
“These activities have started, but I do not see any political party saying that there is no environment and that they will not participate in voting. So why should I assume that there is no environment?” she asked.
Rizwana Hasan, however, acknowledged that a section of people is trying to keep people away from the elections by creating fear.
“We cannot allow them to succeed in any way,” she said, adding that while electoral violence has been seen in the previous elections in Bangladesh, but this time people are experiencing another type of intim-idation.
“That is why I am calling on you to help people to rise above all fear. The people will vote and elect their rulers. You, as the media, will motivate the people to do that and help create the foundation of de-mocracy,” she observed.
“So far, the election environment is acceptable and political parties are participating in the election pro-cess with enthusiasm, and we’re doing the job that is supposed to be done,” she said.
The adviser also said an attempt is being made to create a narrative that the law and order situation is not acceptable or that elections will not be held. This notion has no ground.
She said statistics do not depict a situation significantly worse than normal at different times. Police have been activated to a certain extent. However, we need to take additional steps to face the challenges com-ing from various places, she added.
Highlighting the issue of the referendum, Rizwana Hasan said it needs to be publicized and focused more effectively.
“What are the proposals for the referendum? Why should people participate? What are the implications? If you campaign positively, people will watch and listen,” she said adding that people need to be in-formed about the implications of voting “yes” or “no” to the referendum.
In this regard, she said the government has prepared a narrative and the media should take it from the authorities.
Rizwana said Awami League cannot participate in the coming election as its political activities are sus-pended until the end of the trial process.
BSRF President Masudul Haque presided over the event, while General Secretary Ubaidullah Badal moderated the discussion.
