BNP Standing Committee member Hafizuddin Ahmed on Monday said Jamaat-e-Islami is pushing for a proportional representation (PR) system to block elections as it has always feared the people’s verdict.
“A political party that opposed the Liberation War in 1971 and the Pakistan Movement in 1947 and that has always stood against people, now wants to decide the fate of Bangladesh by demanding the election under PR,” he said while speaking at a discussion.
He said the nation has struggled for 17 years for voting rights, but now Jamaat is trying to block that by raising the PR issue at the instigation of neighbouring India, a country that does not even practise this system itself.
The BNP leader said if the PR system were so effective, countries with long democratic traditions like the UK and India would have adopted it.
Citing a recent survey, he said about 56 percent of Bangladeshis do not know what proportional representation means.
“If such a system is forced on the people without their consent, it would be unjust. Jamaat-e-Islami always fears the people’s verdict, which is why it has never won more than 17 seats in any election,” Hafiz said.
He recalled that BNP has repeatedly earned the people’s trust, even in difficult times. “We have got the mandate to govern four times. In 1996, even during a turbulent situation when Jamaat and Awami League unitedly tried to resist us, we still secured 120 seats. We have always accepted the people’s verdict.”
The discussion programme titled ‘There is no alternative to the National Parliament Election’ was organised by Jatiyatabadi Muktijoddha Dal and Muktijoddha Projonma at the Jatiya Press Club.
The BNP leader argued that if two or three political parties believe PR is the most effective system for Bangladesh, they should clearly state in their election manifestos that they will introduce it if they come to power.
“If the people give you a majority, you may then bring in the system. But two or three parties cannot impose on the nation a new electoral system. It has never happened in any democratic country,” he said.
Hafiz warned against turning ordinary Bangladeshis into “guinea pigs” for experiments with a bizarre election system led by a few political groups or foreign-based intellectuals.
In a democracy, he said, decisions must have the people’s consent, and elections are the only way to move the nation forward.
“So, I hope they will avoid such strange talk. Fearing defeat, they cannot turn the people of Bangladesh into guinea pigs by experimenting with such a system. The people own the state, and their consent must be taken in the next election,” the BNP leader said.
He, however, said BNP will accept if any party introduces the PR system after securing people’s mandate by winning the next election. “But we cannot allow a strange system, unfamiliar to our people, to be imposed for the narrow interests of some parties,” he said.
Hafiz also criticised the National Citizen Party (NCP), saying those who did not even get 100 votes in the DUCSU election are now talking nonsense that if PR is not introduced, elections will not be held.
“Do they think the people of this country have no value? Go to the people. If they give you a majority, you can introduce whatever system you like – we will accept it. But a scheme driven by a few political parties, influenced by some intellectuals from Europe and America, would be very harmful to democracy. As the country’s largest political party, the BNP will never accept that,” he said.
The BNP leader said his party is ready to face on the streets those who try to obstruct elections. “Those who say polls will not be allowed – BNP is not a weak party. Who will stop the elections? We will face them on the streets. The sacrifice of 17 years cannot be in vain.”
He alleged that the current administration still has authoritarian associates in place who have not been removed, and with them in power, no election can be fair. “We cannot go to the polls while authoritarian aides remain in place. For a fair election, this administration must be neutralized.”
Condemning Sunday’s armed attack by miscreants in Guimara upazila of Khagrachhari district, Hafiz said the old game has started again in the CHT.
He recalled that the Indian flag was hoisted in the CHT many years ago, but it was because Ziaur Rahman settled Bengalis there that the population ratio has now become balanced. “That is why they cannot declare independence in favour of India there.”