British envoy sits with BNP

Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Thursday told the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke that a fair election is not possible in the country without a neutral government as the current regime has been moving ahead with its scheme of stealing votes.

“Even if the election is six months away, the scheme of stealing votes is actively going on…that’s why it’s not possible to have a fair election in Bangladesh without an impartial government,” said BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury after the BNP leaders’ meeting with the British envoy.

The BNP leader said that the only way to break the vote-rigging plan is holding the election under a non-partisan and neutral election time government.
“This discussion is now going on everywhere and it has come up in our discussion today,” he said.

The BNP leader explained the political developments and context over the last week saying one of their party leaders was killed, many others were injured, arrested, and implicated in false cases while DCs, UNOs and police officers were transferred and given new postings as part of the governments new plan.
“These all are parts of the scheme of rigging votes in the next polls,” he said.
Amir Khosru said, “All the democratic countries and organisations across the world have concerns that human rights, the rule of law, and the security of public life are at stake amid widespread corruption as an unelected government has been in power.”

“There is only way to change this situation is a fair, acceptable and participatory election and that is the same expectation of the democratic countries like the people of Bangladesh,” he said.
The BNP leader said the global community has also concerns whether a credible, participatory and impartial election will be held in Bangladesh paving the way for people to elect their parliament and the government. “The British government has always had this concern as we follow Westminster. This issue was also discussed in the meeting.”
Replying to a query about whether the UK supports BNP’s demand for holding a fair and participatory election under a neutral government, he said not only Great Britain but also many other countries are extending support to it.

He questioned, “Why are the (delegations of) democratic countries coming to Bangladesh? What messages are they sending? Why are they talking about a representative and participatory and acceptable election? Are they going to any other country in South Asia?”
Khosru said the people of Bangladesh want to get back democracy, their voting rights, the rule of law, democratic politics, and constitutional rights, and they also want a level-playing field and security of life.

After a meeting with Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, the British High Commissioner went to the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office around 3pm and had around one hour and fifty minutes of meeting with a BNP delegation, led by its Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir,
BNP Standing Committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and Organising Secretary Shama Obaed also attended the meeting.