Voters’ turnout to be satisfactory: AL

Staff Reporter :
When the voters’ turnout and the credibility of the election have become a major challenge, the ruling party Awami League is upbeat about huge voters’ presence on the polling day.

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Friday said that the voters’ turnout would be satisfactory and the foreigners would say about the credibility of the election.

“We hope for satisfactory voter turnout. As for how many seats we will get, I don’t want to comment on that now.

The election results will determine who the opposition will be,” he said when asked about the expectations of Awami League regarding voter turnout.

Quader, who is also the minister for the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry, came up with the comments during a press conference in the capital where some foreign reporters were also present.

As for any special arrangements to attract voters, Quader said, “I won’t say there is any special arrangement to attract voters.

Throughout all elections, there has been a team of leaders and workers to communicate with voters and bring them to the polls.

Those teams will do that. Most voters will come spontaneously. For those who may be a bit delayed, the teams might request them to come early. Those teams will handle that.”

During the press conference, a foreign journalist from Japan wanted to know, about Bangladesh’s robust relations with China and Russia.

How does maintaining relations with these two countries (China and Russia) contribute to the national interest of Bangladesh, and what benefits does Bangladesh derive from these relationships?

In response, Obaidul Quader stated, “The fundamental principle of our foreign policy is friendship to all, malice to none.

We have friendship with everyone; we have relations with many countries around the world. Our relations with developed countries are for our development.

We have relations with countries like India, Japan, China, Russia, and France for the development of infrastructure. Everyone is our friend.”

When asked about the acceptance of the upcoming election, Quader replied, “The election will take place.

Whether it will be accepted internationally is for the foreign entities to decide.

A good election will take place in this country. Where there is no main opposition party, we regret that.

If BNP were present, the election would be more competitive, we acknowledge that. Still, this election is competitive.”

Foreign media is reporting that a one-sided election is taking place in Bangladesh because the main opposition party has boycotted it.

When questioned about this, Quader clarified, “It is not a one-sided election; it is a one-sided opposition.”

Regarding BNP’s claim that the government is creating a ‘dummy’ opposition, he remarked, “Biased questions are being asked. It’s too biased.”

On the speculation that voter turnout might decrease due to BNP’s strikes on election day, Quader responded, “Hartal is a tool of agitation.

BNP has used this tool before, but it has not yielded any benefits. We don’t expect any benefit this time either.”

Regarding the perception that Awami League is consolidating power similar to the fourth consecutive term, Quader replied, “We believe we will be victorious in the election.

The number of seats, I don’t want to say now. The election results will reveal who the opposition will be.”