Report in The Daily Star, Oct 13, 2023
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal yesterday said that the election would be incomplete if BNP doesn’t participate in the election.
“Though different small parties are taking part in the polls, it is undeniable that they are not equal to BNP…. If the party (BNP) doesn’t participate in the election, there’s no doubt that … a sense of incompletion might overshadow the election,” he said in an interview with BBC Bangla published on Thursday.
The CEC thinks that they (EC) will be ‘happy’ if the election is held peacefully without any conflict or violence, but it (election) will remain incomplete from the perspective of democratic spirit (if BNP doesn’t participate).
CEC stated that there is no plan for reshuffling the administration in advance. It is not certain that the opposition parties will take part in the election if we bring change in the administration, he added.
However, the EC will consider it if opposition parties want this after agreeing to participate in the election, the CEC assured.
Mentioning that the EC didn’t get response about participating in the election from BNP and its like-minded parties, Kazi Habibul Awal said, “Despite being refused two times, I sent a letter on behalf of the Election Commission not only to Fakhrul Islam Alamgir but also to those parties’ leaders who are boycotting the election, but didn’t get any response.”
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/elections/news/without-bnp-polls-will-be-incomplete-cec-3441996
