The train for the 12th parliamentary election has already reached its destination, so the BNP will have to wait for another five years for the next train, said Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader.

He was speaking at a joint meeting organised with central leaders and top leaders of the AL's Dhaka city units and its affiliated bodies at the party's Bangabandhu Avenue central office in the capital on Wednesday.

He said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has introduced the process of holding free and fair elections in the country.

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"In this election, we saw that the candidature of a ruling party candidate was cancelled and some candidates were issued show-cause notices for breaching the electoral code of conduct. Sheikh Hasina has established a new example through this election. It is possible to hold fair elections in this country only under Sheikh Hasina," he said.

Quader, also the road, transport and bridges minister, said that many countries have congratulated the newly elected government except a party of Bangladesh.

Even the US Ambassador in Dhaka Peter Haas congratulated the new government, he said.

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BNP did not join the elections sensing its defeat and those who boycotted the polls are saying different things, he added.

The election was a competitive one where many independent candidates were elected, while the AL had to take a new strategy as the opposition party boycotted it, he said.

The election was held following the constitution and it was peaceful except for a couple of isolated incidents, Quader said.

The AL general secretary said that the country's people have no involvement with the BNP and that is why it has been turned into a party of frustrated ones.

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AL presidium members Begum Matia Chowdhury, Dr Abdur Razzaque, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Dr Mustafa Jalal Mohiuddin, Qamrul Islam, Jahangir Kabir Nanak and Abdur Rahman, joint general secretaries Dr Hasan Mahmud, Mahbubul Alam Hanif, AFM Bahauddin Nasim and Dr Dipu Moni, and organizing secretaries BM Mozammel Haque, Mirza Azam, Afzal Hossain and Sujit Roy Nandi, among others, were present at that time.