“The Awami League government has now become desperate. They don’t allow holding participatory elections. They repress if anyone from the opposition parties dares to be there in any election race,” said BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
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Speaking at a press conference at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, he said, “Election circuses are now underway jointly produced by the midnight government and the shameless Election Commission.”
After any polls, the BNP leader said, both the government and the EC talk in the same tune that the election was fair though the voters denied casting votes.
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He came up with the remarks condemning an attack on Habiza Begum, former ward councillor of Tangail’s Gopalpur municipality, allegedly by the ruling party men, leaving her critically injured, centring the municipality polls.
Rizvi said the ruling party let loose its cadres across the country to attack the campaigns of opposition candidates. “Habiza Begum subjected to such an attack by them.”
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He demanded the government arrest the attackers of Habiza and mete out exemplary punishment to them.
The BNP leader said civil society members’ demand for forming a supreme judicial council to punish the current EC is a justified one since no fair election was held under it. “But now the Chief Election Commissioner and the Awami League leaders are trying to hush the truth by force.”
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Being a constitutional body, he said the Election Commission should earn the confidence of all parties. “But why does Awami League only like the EC? Awami League likes the EC as it justified all the misdeeds of the party regarding destroying election system and annihilating democracy.”
About the ongoing municipal polls, Rizvi said the ruling party supports are not allowing BNP candidates to carry out electioneering and they are threatening voters not to go to the polling stations to ensure the victory of their candidates without voting.
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