TIB rejects allegation of aligning with BNP
Staff Reporter :
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has said that it does not align with any particular political party, rather it advocates for the principles of free, fair, and inclusive elections.
In response to the remarks made by Obaidul Quader, the Road Transport and Bridges Minister and Secretary General of the Awami League, accusing TIB of aligning with BNP’s agenda, TIB issued a statement on Sunday.
The statement expressed that such comments were self-embarrassing for Quader and highlighted concerns about a mindset that categorizes all critics as political adversaries.
TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said, it should not be unknown to the learned Minister that an inclusive election can be held only in a situation where level playing field for all aspiring parties and candidates is ensured through a neutral, non-partisan and conflict of interest-free role of the Election Commission, Election time Government, administration and law enforcement agencies.
TIB condemned the attempt by the Awami League General Secretary to conflate TIB with BNP for expressing doubts about a participatory election.
“TIB is an apolitical entity with no affiliations towards any political party. It was deeply disappointing to hear such unfounded statements from a key minister of the state and the second-in-command of the ruling political party,” he said.
However, TIB expressed that while such allegations were neither surprising nor unnerving, they marked a recurrent trend where both major political entities, Awami League and BNP, responded with hostility whenever TIB’s research reports or recommendations challenged their interests.
Iftekharuzzaman, further stated, “TIB’s position remains unwaveringly neutral when it comes to political alignments. Our focus is on fostering a corruption-free, democratic, and well-governed Bangladesh.”
“We had faced hostilities previously; during the BNP-led four-party alliance government, threats of closure and legal actions from 64 districts were issued against us.
This year too, there were malicious disinformation campaigns on social media platforms from the BNP affiliated groups against Transparency International, TIB, and its officials,” he said.
He further said, “TIB stands firm in its commitment to democracy and good governance, opposing anti-democratic forces.
The ongoing opportunistic hostilities from the two major political parties only served to highlight the neutrality of our organization.”
