Staff Reporter:
Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus’s statement about the next parliamentary elections is unclear and disappointing, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has said.
“We expected that the chief adviser would give a roadmap (about holding the general election), but he didn’t do it. It has disappointed us,” BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said at a press conference at the party chairperson’s office in the Gulshan area of the capital on Thursday.
The party arranged the press conference to brief about the resolution of its standing committee meeting held on Wednesday night with the BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman in the chair.
“The Election Commission has been formed, but we don’t see any preparations for holding the elections,” Fakhrul said.
He said the chief adviser’s address to the nation and his press secretary’s statement on the timing of the election was contradictory. “We cannot understand which of their statements is correct.”
Reading out the resolution of the BNP standing committee meeting, the party secretary general said, “The meeting feels that the statement regarding the elections in the speech of Muhammad Yunus is unclear. Although his speech mentioned a possible time for the elections, no specific statement was made about the road map for it.”
“He (Yunus) mentioned that the possible time frame for holding the polls is the end of 2025 or the first part of 2026, which is completely vague and does not mention any specific time. However, his press secretary said that the elections will be held by June 2026, which is contradictory,” he added.
He said the BNP standing committee discussed that since the Election Commission has been formed, there is no need to delay the holding of elections. “It is possible to hold elections quickly by completing the election-centric reforms. The people expect a clear statement from the chief adviser on this issue.”
Mirza Fakhrul also said the BNP policymaking body believes that the exact timing of the elections should be determined through discussions with political parties and other stakeholders.
He said the BNP standing committee welcomed the High Court verdict that scrapped part of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, adding that, “We appreciate this verdict. The court has recognised that the next elected parliament is the only appropriate forum for amending the constitution.”
He further said the court has mentioned in its judgment all other issues of the 15th Amendment to the Consideration of the next elected parliament. “Therefore, all types of amendments to the constitution are the jurisdiction or function of the elected parliament alone and its judicial recognition has been given.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the High Court scrapped part of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution that had abolished the non-partisan caretaker government system, and also issued various observations.
Mirza Fakhrul said all elections, including the ones for the local bodies, held under the fascist Sheikh Hasina government were illegal.
He said their party earlier repeatedly called upon the interim government to dissolve all local government bodies. “All were dissolved except for the union parishads. We demanded that it should also be cancelled immediately.”
In response to a question about whether the BNP wants to put former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque on trial for his involvement in the process of illegally amending the constitution, the BNP Secretary General said, “When the opportunity comes, he will definitely be brought to justice.”
Explaining the High Court verdict, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said the court acknowledged that Parliament holds the jurisdiction to amend the constitution.
He said all the things that truly undermined the basic structure of the Constitution, the principles of democracy, and altered the character of the constitution were declared unconstitutional and illegal by the court.
Salahuddin said the court also paved the way for reinstating the caretaker government system, recognising it as a fundamental aspect of the constitution.
