BNP senior leader Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Thursday said the party will begin discussions on seat sharing with its political allies once the election schedule is announced.
“We’ve not reached that stage yet to talk about seat sharing. This process will begin once the election schedule is announced and election-related activities start,” he said.
Khosru, also a BNP Standing Committee member, made the remarks while speaking to reporters after a meeting between BNP’s liaison committee and the Gono Odhikar Parishad at the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office.
He said the seat-sharing issue will be addressed only after the election process officially begins. “We’ll discuss it with all like-minded parties once the schedule is announced.”
During the meeting with Gono Odhikar Parishad leaders, Khosru said they shared the outcome of the recent meeting between Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman in London.
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He mentioned that both parties are pleased with the announcement that the election is likely to be held in February next year.
The BNP leader also said they discussed how to move forward and carry out necessary preparations ahead of the election, including how to implement the 31-point reform agenda. “As we were united during the movement, we’ll move forward together in the coming days – during the election, in forming the government and in implementing the 31-point reform.”
Speaking about the ongoing meetings of the National Consensus Commission, Khosru said reforms will be carried out based on issues where political parties can agree. “There is no scope to go beyond that.”
He said every party has its own political ideas, philosophy and future goals. “So, it’s not necessary to reach a consensus on everything. Some issues are important to BNP, while others matter more to different parties. These differences will remain. That’s why the reforms will focus on the agreed issues, while other matters will be presented to the people in the election.”
Khosru said BNP is waiting for the government’s decision on swearing in its leader Ishraque Hossain as the Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), following a court ruling that declared him the winner of the DSCC election.
“The judiciary has given a clear decision by declaring Ishraque the mayor. The Election Commission also approved this and gave its opinion. So, legally, he should take charge as mayor,” he said.
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Khosru said both the BNP and the current interim government believe in the rule of law. “We firmly believe that if we truly follow the rule of law, it is only natural for Ishraque to be sworn in as mayor. We are now waiting for the government’s decision in this regard.”