The Election Commission is the Caretaker Authority
Indeed, now only the option to hold a free and fair poll, the Election Commission is the constitutional authority. With this critical observation, I would say, indeed, the Election Commission is the “Caretaker Government” that has the constitutional power to ensure people’s voting rights to hold a free and fair election. In this context, we can vividly say that the Election Commission has the legal capacity to ensure election engineering-free polls. On the same note, even the USA has got this understanding now, and seems diplomatically correct, that the USA has realized that the BNP-Jamaat political block made havoc on public life is a negative element that they hide to them. Not only these negative activities, but the USA was also entirely surprised knowing of the BNP orchestrated fraudulence of the American President “Joe Biden’s Advisor’ Mian Jahidul Islam alias Arefy Press Meeting at the BNP party head office surrounded by the senior leaders’ recognition. My experience for more than two decades with the Western diplomatic mission’s political department encourages me to say that such a “fraud and irresponsible display” can’t be welcomed by that respective country. I guess, it has caused major damage to the party’s leadership capacity and prudent quality and branded them bankrupt. However, in the need for a proper process of democratic continuation, under the proven situation of those political parties’ ring of terror, the USA has given tacit recognition to the present Election Commission’s capacity as the legal entity that this is the right institution to hold the free and fair polls that the country’s people want.
Read Part One: BNP’s Brutal Politics vs Role of EC
Read Part Two: BNP’s Brutal Politics vs Role of EC
Stubborn BNP’s No to Dialogue
Amidst this political impasse, the Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said, “BNP says they want the prime minister’s resignation, dissolve parliament, caretaker government, resign from the Election Commission. We will not agree to this conditional dialogue. “We will think of dialogue when they (BNP) withdraw these four conditions. We have no thoughts on any conditional dialogue. If they withdraw the condition, then it will consider the political process.” But the BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir showed their rigid face and said, they are not ready to sit for an “unconditional dialogue” with the government. He said, “It is clear to us that you (prime minister) should resign, dissolve parliament, hand over power to a neutral government and form a new Election Commission and hold elections under them.”
EC Whistles the Election Train
What is the ground reality from the Election Commission at this moment of unhealthy political maneuvering by the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami? The Election Commission (EC) has almost completed preparations to hold a free, fair, and credible national election amid uncertainty over the participation of all parties. Preparations are being made assuming that BNP and its allies will not participate in the election. All election-related activities, including the purchase and printing of election materials, preparation of the list of election officials, and their training, are going on in full swing.
BNP’s Fraudulent Politics
While the Election Commission is on the move to host the election, at that time BNP is moving in a different direction! What’s that? On the day of its public rally, on 28th October, abruptly a man Mian Jahidul Islam alias Arefy appeared in the BNP Head Office and identified himself as Advisor to US President Joe Biden. Having full consent and surrounded by BNP leaders, he made a press statement with a threatening voice to Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to leave power. Why? He claimed that he witnessed government-made atrocities on 28th October against the opposition political party supporters, which is a clear violation of human rights and a threat to democracy.
He also claimed that meantime he communicated with the White House to take necessary action against Sheikh Hasina and her government to oust.
What a mockery to the nation that the BNP top leaders allowed staging a “dressed fraud” to lead their party and thought of a high range of satisfactional dreams to get state power of Bangladesh with the blessings of the USA. What a pain that a party was in power and now has lost total credibility in which a “Concocted Fruad” is permitted to play. Indeed, what else the nation can expect from this party when its foundation is highly controversial and full of hypocrisy which is sleeping in the political history of Bangladesh.
Conclusion
Right now conscious people have many propositions to say about how our nation can be saved from the people who are carrying the political identity of democracy but not responsible for their country’s interests. They are reluctant to protect the “Map of Sovereign Bangladesh”. This is how BNP and its ally Jamaat-e-Islami are doing partnership against the people by denouncing the spirit of the independence, and the gallant history of the liberation war of Bangladesh. That’s why with deep pain and shock, I get deep into the song sung by the infamous singer Abdul Latif, “Daam Diye Kinechhi Bangla/ Karo Daywai Paowa noy” (We bought our blood-bath Bangladesh at the cost of millions lives/ we didn’t get the independence as anyone’s compassion.)