The consensus of political parties on holding national elections by 2025 is growing. This time, Jamaat-e-Islami also agreed with BNP and like-minded parties on this question.
These issues have been raised in separate reports and interviews published in Prothom Alo and Manab Zamin's political magazine 'Janatar Chokh' on Sunday.
Although Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus recently gave an idea about the timing of the elections in his address to the nation, the parties were not satisfied with it because, the government has not discussed with the parties when the elections can be held. BNP and other parties say that their distance from the government is also growing due to not giving a clear statement on the elections.
The major complaint of the active parties is that the interim government has no regular, formal or informal communication with them. When a context is created, the Chief Advisor has called the political parties. So far, the government has held three meetings with the leaders of the political parties.
In an interview with The Diplomat (published in Janatar Chokh), BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, “Most of the challenges and controversies that are currently in the country will be resolved in the elections. Until that happens, the arguments and debates will continue.”
Highlighting the importance of elections, the BNP Secretary General said, “As a liberal democrat, I believe in participatory politics, where all parties will have opportunities to participate – not excluding any politics. The people’s choice of political parties should be chosen through elections. That is why we strongly request that elections be held as soon as possible.”
He said, “Although there are allegations that ‘BNP is against reforms’ or ‘BNP is involved in corruption’, we started reforms two years ago. It will continue going forward. We are a nationalist party that firmly believes in democracy. This creates problems for those who prefer subjugation. We want a democratic Bangladesh where all problems will be solved democratically. The policy we want to ensure is that I may not agree with your opinion. But I will protect your right to speak freely.''
After the interim government's four-month anniversary, on December 16, in his speech to the nation on the occasion of the Great Victory Day, the Chief Adviser gave an idea about the timing of the elections. He said that the election time can be set between the end of 2025 and the first half of 2026. Then, the Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam explained, 'You can hope that the elections will be held by June 30, 2026.''
However, the BNP leadership believes that there is no need for a long time for the elections. They want quick elections. Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami, while talking about giving the necessary time for reforms, is now demanding elections by 2025. Political parties are seeing this as positive as the government's top brass is talking about elections, albeit late. But the statement about the elections is not clear and they have complained that no discussion has been held with the parties about giving an idea about the timing. Now the parties are demanding a roadmap based on consensus after discussing with them.
The BNP leadership believes that there is no need for a long time for elections. They want quick elections. Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami, while talking about giving the necessary time for reforms, is now demanding elections by 2025. Political parties are seeing this as a positive as the election is being talked about from the top level of the government, even if it is late.
Saiful Haque, one of the leaders of the Ganatantra Mancha and General Secretary of the Biplobi Workers Party, who is in a simultaneous movement with the BNP, said that there is a discussion in politics about whether there is a section of the government behind the formation of a new party and whether there can be an attempt to prolong the elections to make room for them. And for these reasons, trust in the government is decreasing. As a result, it is necessary for the government to increase communication with them to understand the thoughts of the parties.
After the fall of the dictatorial regime, the student leaders of the coup are forming a new party. Various parties, including the BNP, have also raised the question of whether any party is being formed under state patronage. Some political parties and government supporters are also raising questions about BNP's demand for early elections. BNP leaders have also explained this in their speeches. The party's acting chairman Tarique Rahman recently said at a party event that as a political party, they will repeatedly talk about elections and want elections. This is normal.
However, there are various discussions within BNP regarding demanding early elections. Multiple sources in the party said that the interim government has failed to control prices, bring speed to the economy, control the law and order situation, and bring stability to the administration. The government is unable to handle the situation. And this is creating a negative perception among the people about the government. This situation is also being said to be one of the reasons behind the demand for early elections. The BNP leadership believes that the longer the elections are delayed, the more the crisis will increase.
BNP is also taking this into consideration that there may be various conspiracies. The party leaders believe that after the fall of the Awami League government in the student-public uprising, most of the ministers of that government, including the top leadership, fled abroad. But they also have many workers and supporters inside the country. There may be attempts to create various crises from their side. BNP is also taking this reality into account.
Some of the student leaders of the movement to overthrow the dictatorship are in the government. They are talking about forming a new party. Behind this There is a suspicion in the BNP whether it has the patronage of the state and the government or not. The party leaders also say so in their speeches.
The party says that the government has formed 11 reform commissions. It is not possible to implement all the proposals of all the commissions in one-two years. A senior BNP leader said that the BNP wants necessary reforms in only these four areas - the electoral system, law enforcement, public administration and the judiciary. Apart from these, all other reform proposals will be implemented by the elected government.
BNP believes that four-five months are needed to complete the necessary reforms and hold elections. As a result, the party does not want to wait until June 2026 for the elections. BNP will not object to holding elections by December 2025.
Meanwhile, despite expressing a strong position in favor of giving the interim government time for reforms, Jamaat-e-Islami is now talking about elections by 2025. The party had earlier said that elections would be held after completing all the reforms. There is a change in that position. Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar said yesterday that all the reforms are not possible now. Therefore, they want elections after completing the necessary reforms.
Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Amir Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said at a youth conference in Chauddagram, Cumilla, yesterday that the next national parliamentary elections must be held by 2025. All reforms must be completed within this period.