Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on Wednesday urged the Election Commission to hold local government elections under the interim government before the 13th parliamentary polls.

“The national election is approaching. Our demand is to hold the local government election before that — not only for now, but also for the future — under the non-partisan government, no matter what form of interim government would be,” said Jamaat’s Assistant Secretary General AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad.

He said this while talking to reporters after a meeting between a three-member Jamaat delegation and Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin at Nirbachon Bhaban in the city. The meeting came a day after the party regained its registration and traditional party symbol –Scales -following a court directive.

The Jamaat leader said if the local government elections are held under an interim government, the polls will be much more neutral and credible.

Replying to a question whether Jamaat has confidence in the current Election Commission, he said they are still observing everything of the government and the election body.

“We’re observing. And where work is done properly, we will acknowledge it. We must describe black as black and white as white. If deviations occur, we will have to raise our voice…. We are hopeful that they (EC) will act responsibly keeping the public interest in mind,” he said.

In the meeting, Jamaat delegation also raised the issue of introduction of proportional representation (PR) system in the election.

Jamaat regains registration with ‘Scales’ symbol 

“The PR system for (the sake of) fair elections is a good method. We have also raised this demand before the EC through the formal meeting," Azad said.

About the voting rights of expatriates, Jamaat expressed its support for postal and online voting system. “We’ve suggested that the Commission consider postal and online systems as viable options for expatriate voting,” he said.

Regarding the reinstatement of Jamaat registration, Azad said they regained their right that was unjustly taken away. "The restoration of registration with the symbol has set a new precedent,” he said.

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“During the previous government's tenure, Jamaat's registration was unjustly cancelled and the party symbol was taken away for political reasons," said the Jamaat assistant secretary general.

Two other Jamaat delegation members were its assistant secretary general Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair and Advocate Jashim Uddin Sarker.