BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday said that the country's people will not be able to cast their votes in the next national election, same as the last two, if it is held under the current government, as they were in 2014 and 2018.

"The government is planning to hold the election in that way again. Our people want to elect their representatives with their votes. But it’ll never be possible if the present Awami League regime remains in power,” he said.

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Speaking at a programme at a city hotel, the BNP leader also said their party has long been demanding the national elections under a neutral and non-partisan government to enable people to elect their representatives freely by exercising their right to franchise.

BNP Media Cell arranged the programme, marking the first anniversary of its formation.

Fakhrul said the political parties that believe in democratic politics, and independence of the country and that want to make Bangladesh a truly democratic state have launched a simultaneous movement to restore democracy.

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“We want to bring back democracy and establish people’s rights in the country to materialise the dreams of independence. It’s not our prime goal to take the BNP to power,” he observed.

The BNP leader said lack of democracy is the main crisis now in Bangladesh as the government has destroyed all the democratic institutions by establishing a one-party rule.

He said BNP Media Cell can play an important role in restoring people’s lost rights since the mainstream media cannot work independently. “It’s also a big challenge that the media in the country has been controlled by various tactics.”

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The BNP leader said the government has shut down different newspapers and TV stations since it came to power to regulate the media.

He also accused the government of repressing and harassing journalists by enacting black laws, including the Digital Security Act.

BNP Standing Committee members Abdul Moyeen Khan, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Selima Rahman, Vice Chairmen Shahjahan Omar, Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, Barkat Ullah Bulu, Shamsuzzaman Dudu and Ahmed Azam Khan, among others, attended the event with the Media Cell convenor Zahir Uddin Swapan in the chair.

Diplomats from some countries, including USA, France, and Denmark were also present in the programme.