Bangladesh political parties criticise Election Commission’s roadmap amid growing political tensions

Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP) have voiced opposition to Bangladesh's Election Commission's newly announced election roadmap. Both parties accuse interim government advisor Muhammad Yunus of breaking promises and claim the roadmap undermines the fairness of the elections

Dhaka: In a growing conflict ahead of next year’s general election in Bangladesh, political parties, including radical Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP), voiced opposition to the election roadmap recently unveiled by the Election Commission (EC), local media reported.

The Jamaat accused Muhammad Yunus, Chief Advisor of the interim government, of breaking his promise, claiming that the announced roadmap was designed to derail the prospect of a free election.

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Jamaat leader Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher, on Friday, at a public event, said that the Chief Advisor “has broken his promise by announcing the election roadmap; this roadmap is a blueprint to derail a fair election,” reports leading Bangladeshi daily The Dhaka Tribune.

“Jamaat has no objection regarding the elections in February. We are preparing specifically for the February 15 elections. But it is very necessary to resolve some issues for a free and fair election. Among these, the July Charter must be given a legal basis, and based on that, the February elections must be held. But without doing these, the announced roadmap for the elections, I believe, is a blueprint to derail a fair election,” he added.

Taher also stated that the EC has committed a serious crime by announcing a roadmap without clarifying whether the polls would be held based on the previous traditional method or the newly proposed Proportional Representation (PR) system.

“We will not let this happen. We will compel the government and the Election Commission that elections must take place based on the July Charter refund and PR,” he further stated.

Furthermore, the NCP Senior Joint Convener Ariful Islam criticised the unveiling of the election roadmap before finalising the July Charter, calling it a breach of the interim government’s assurance.

“Announcing the roadmap before declaring the implementation of the ‘July Charter’ is tantamount to breaking promises. The preparation for the election is linked to the way the charter will be implemented,” leading Bangladeshi daily The Business Standard quoted Ariful as saying.

“We expected the government to announce a roadmap for the July Charter before this election roadmap. This misstep could create future crises for which the government must bear responsibility,” he added.

On Thursday, the EC announced the electoral action plan setting timelines to complete all measures needed to conduct the 13th parliamentary polls before Ramadan in February next year.

EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed unveiled a 24-point roadmap emphasising that the Commission’s sole objective is to deliver the polls on time.

Bangladesh has been gripped by uncertainty over the next general elections since the democratically elected government of Awami League, led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was overthrown during violent protests last year.

The political parties that collaborated with Yunus to remove Hasina are now at loggerheads over reform proposals and the timing of the next polls.