by Fazlur Rahman Raju in Dhaka Tribune, Apr 25, 2018 at 10:59 PM
The Awami League is to finalize its list of potential candidates for the 11th general election early in a bid to avert internal unrest at polls time over the ongoing feuds and clashes among party leaders at all levels.
Following the high command’s directives, central leaders have been touring organizational districts nationwide to mediate in disputes before the polls, which are slated for December this year.
Party insiders, however, have said the internal conflicts still remain a big challenge as the initiatives have not worked out as expected.
Several senior leaders believe that if candidates are chosen months before the election, they will have sufficient amounts of time to understand all the competing factions and their demands, and resolve any conflicts.
Two Awami League presidium members told the Dhaka Tribune that they discussed selecting candidates several months before the polls, but were yet to finalize their decision.
“We are determined to solve the problems by any means,” Abdur Razzaque, an Awami League presidium member and the chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance Ministry, said.
“As part of our measures to address the issues, the high command is considering selecting candidates earlier than usual.”
The party may finalize the list of candidates by July or August, the former minister hinted.
Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and General Secretary Obaidul Quader are reported to have also supported the idea.
As the party is in power for nearly 10 years, multiple leaders in each constituency have emerged over this period. Almost all of them are willing to contest the election with Awami League blessings, leading to internal conflicts and disagreements among the hopefuls.
Four organizing secretaries of the party said ensuring victory in the election would be a “challenging task” for Awami League, as it wants to see an “inclusive and competitive” election involving all political parties, unlike in January 2014 when the main Opposition BNP boycotted.
“If BNP participates in the election, Awami League will have to contest it with its full strength and efforts,” Misbah Uddin Siraj, an organizing secretary, said. “We must resolve all the prevalent disputes in order to discipline our leaders and activists and bring them under a common electoral umbrella.”
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/politics/2018/04/25/11th-parliamentary-polls-al-select-candidates-earlier-avoid-internal-feuds/
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