IAB to march toward EC if unilateral poll schedule announced

Staff Reporter :
Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB) has stated that the Election Commission’s unilateral schedule announcement without any political consensus has raised questions about the free, fair and participatory election early next year.

Protesting the EC’s move, the Islamic party has declared to stage a march towards the Election Commission on the day of the announcement of the election schedule.

The party has called upon the Commission to refrain from the announcement as the political consensus over the election-time government and the level playing field for a free and fair election have not yet been created.

The IAB Ameer, Mufti Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim, made the announcement during a press conference held on Sunday at the party’s headquarters in the capital.

In addition to the ‘march rally,’ the IAB has declared plans to organise protest rallies and demonstrations in all 64 districts and metropolitan areas across the country on the day following the announcement of the election schedule.

Supporting peaceful programmes of other political parties, the IAB announced to hold a national dialogue with representatives from all political parties, educators, intellectuals, journalists and various professional organisations in Dhaka on November 20 in order to resolve the national crisis.

Senior Presidium member Principal Maulana Sayed Muhammad Mosaddek Billah Al Madani, Senior Deputy Amir Mufti Sayed Muhammad Foyzul Karim, Presidium member Allama Nurul Huda Foyezi, Secretary General Principal Maulana Yunus Ahmed, Presidium member Professor Ashraf Ali Akon, Professor Mahbubur Rahman, and Senior Joint Secretary Maulana Gazi Ataur Rahman were present on the occasion.

Recalling their previous demand during a gathering in the capital on Nov 3, Charmonai Pir Rezaul Karim said, “We had demanded that the President should initiate a dialogue with opposition parties by releasing the jailed opposition leaders. However, he did not pay heed to it.”

“Even during his appointment as the current President, the remarks he made reflected his affiliation with the Awami League.

Despite that, as the highest responsible figure in the country, his leadership has further plunged the nation into darkness. We cannot push the nation into darkness,” he said.

Reiterating their demands, he said, “An immediate dialogue should be initiated with representatives of all political parties to form a national government during the election period, by dissolving the parliament.”

All leaders, activists, and respected religious figures of the opposition party who have been arrested for political reasons should be released immediately, and a dialogue should be arranged under the President’s auspices, he said.

He also demanded the annulment of the present Election Commission for its tainted partisanship and a schedule should not be announced without creating a level playing field and political consensus.

“We want to clearly caution the Commission to refrain from the announcement of the election schedule. The majority of political parties and voters in the country have lost faith in you.

Do not exacerbate the political crisis in the country. If you announce the schedule, you will be responsible for the evolving situation,” he said.

The Chief Election Commissioner himself admitted during an exchange with media owners and editors that the desired election environment has not been created in the country, IAB Ameer said.

Expressing distrust of the current government, he said, “A desired election environment will never be created under the incumbent government.

Therefore, step down and create an environment conducive to fair polls.
The government repeatedly neglects the will of the people while invoking the constitution.

However, we know that the acceptance and legitimacy of the Constitution are established through the expression of the people’s opinion.

The Constitution’s Preamble explicitly stated that whatever is mentioned in the Constitution, no one has the authority to go against the will of the people.”

During the press conference, he also expressed solidarity with the garment workers’ struggle for increasing the pay hike and condoled the deaths of workers in police actions during their protests.

He urged to stop the repression of the workers and ensure their just rights.
The IAB Ameer also criticised the flagrant vote rigging in the by elections of Brahmanbaria and Laxmipur.