Staff Reporter:
BNP senior leader Salahuddin Ahmed on Saturday, in an oblique reference, accused Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami of siding with a vested quarter trying to create political unrest and obstruct the next national election.
“We are suspecting that this political party (Jamaat) is working in support of forces trying to make the political situation volatile, create instability and delay or even derail the next parliamentary election,” he said while speaking at a discussion.
The BNP leader warned that if the election is delayed or foiled, fascism will rise again which will inevi-tably lead to the emergence of undemocratic forces. “Do we want that? Of course not,” he said.
Salahuddin, a BNP Standing Committee member, said his party believes Jamaat is working in favour of those who want to destabilise the country and obstruct the election, as the Islamist party has taken to the streets with unjustified demands, including the introduction of the Proportional Representation (PR) sys-tem in the next election.
Salahuddin said even a political party that is now talking about the PR system took part in the one-sided election. “They’re now promoting the activities of the Awami League.”
The National Democratic Party (NDP) arranged the programme at the Institution of Engineers, Bangla-desh, marking its 36th founding anniversary.
Salahuddin reiterated BNP’s stance against the PR system, saying it would push the country into instabil-ity and political turmoil.
He said if the election is held under the PR system, governments would change so often that people’s expectations would never be fulfilled, and no party would be able to carry out its political pledges. “We must not allow Bangladesh to fall into such an unstable and uncertain situation by adopting this ar-rangement.”
The BNP leader said conflicting survey results about PR should not be used to mislead the public.
“I urge those political parties who are putting their own interests above the nation’s welfare and sacrific-ing the interests of the country and its people for political gain to return to the right path for the sake of the people of Bangladesh and stop confusing the public,” he said.
Under a PR system, the BNP leader said, independent candidates would lose their rights as they would not be able to contest elections because people would vote for parties and symbols, not individuals.
“Voters would not even know who they are voting for. Do we want a system that does not protect the democratic rights of the people of Bangladesh, or one that people cannot understand? Of course not. So, no party should try to mislead the nation by talking about the PR system,” he said.
Salahuddin said Article 65(2) of the Constitution clearly states that Parliament shall consist of 300 mem-bers elected in accordance with the law from single territorial constituencies by direct election.
Even then, he said, Jamaat leaders are claiming that the Constitution does not specifically mention any-thing about the election system.
Salahuddin said BNP and other democratic parties have been struggling over the past 16 years to restore and exercise the democratic rights of the people. “We are eagerly waiting to exercise those rights. We must ensure they are implemented. By exercising the right to vote, Bangladesh’s democratic journey will move forward.’
He also said those elected to the next parliament must remain accountable and committed to implement-ing the reform programmes agreed upon through the National Consensus Commission.
