No fair polls possible without neutral govt, BNP to EU envoy

Staff Reporter :
BNP on Tuesday told the European Union (EU) Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley that there will be no possibility of holding a fair election without a neutral caretaker government.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said this while he had a closed-door meeting with the EU envoy in Dhaka.
They discussed various issues relating to the next election and politics in Bangladesh.

The hour-long meeting began around 3pm at the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan political office in the capital.
BNP Human Rights Affairs Secretary Asaduzzaman Asad and two other EU officials also attended the meeting.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, BNP Secretary General said they talked about Bangladesh’s current political situation and BNP’s plans, programmes and actions over the next general election.
“We have clearly told the EU envoy that it is not possible to hold fair and acceptable polls under any political party’ government other than a neutral non-partisan one in Bangladesh,” Mirza Fakhrul said.
He said an expert team from the European Union will come to Bangladesh next week to hold talks with various political parties and civil society members to observe the current situation of the country.
“This meeting discussed in advance about that meeting of the EU expert team,” he said.
The BNP leader said the EU has long been saying repeatedly that they want an inclusive, free, fair and acceptable election in Bangladesh. “Their team will come here to see whether there is a probability to have a participatory, fair and free election in the country.”

Asking about possibility of dialogue between the ruling and the opposition parties about the next election through the mediation of the international community, the BNP leader declined to make any comment.
“We didn’t discuss such a thing in our meeting,” he said.
The BNP leader said the EU envoy wanted to know whether there is now an election atmosphere in Bangladesh and whether an acceptable election is possible under the current government, he added.