UN chief calls PM, tasks Taranco to hold dialogue

FE Team | Published: May 03, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

UN Assistant Secretary-General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco has been tasked to hold talks with political parties in Bangladesh on the situation emerging from city corporation elections, reports bdnews24.com.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called up Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday and intimated the decision.
Prime Minister's Press Secretary AKM Shameem Chowdhuri said the secretary general discussed the recent civic polls.
Chowdhuri said the secretary general viewed BNP's participation in the polls as a "relief", but he was concerned that it boycotted the polls midway. He termed the development "unfortunate."
He then told the prime minister that Fernandez-Taranco had been assigned to hold talks with the political parties.
The UN assistant secretary-general had visited Dhaka twice in 2013 amid the political upheaval surrounding the parliamentary elections.
He had then tried to mediate talks between the government and the BNP-led alliance, which was waging a movement for elections under a caretaker regime.
But his initiative for dialogue had failed.
The Awami League came to power for the second consecutive term through elections boycotted by the BNP.
Fernandez-Taranco again visited Dhaka following large-scale violence during the blockade called by BNP chief Khaleda Zia on the first anniversary of January 05 elections.
The spokesperson for the secretary general at that time had said that Fernandez-Taranco was asked to mediate between the two sides.
BNP Standing Committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan had then said his party would welcome UN initiatives for dialogue with Awami League.
The UN chief telephoned Hasina at 1:48pm on Friday and spoke for 14 minutes, Chowdhuri said.
"Ban Ki-moon said he was told that there were some irregularities in the corporation elections," the PM's press secretary said.
"The Prime Minister informed him that elections were held peacefully and that for the first time, no one was killed in election-related violence in Bangladesh," Chowdhuri added.
The Awami League-backed mayor candidates swept the April 28 city polls.
The BNP-supported candidates, however, boycotted polls at noon midway through polling, alleging massive rigging.
The UN secretary-general, apart from the US, the UK and the EU, has called for investigation into all allegations of irregularities. Chowdhuri said, "The Prime Minister told the UN chief that the BNP burnt people alive during its three-month long protest.
"They damaged public properties. She said people did not vote for them" because of the destruction of lives and properties.
"BNP realised this and announced the boycott three hours into the polling to discredit elections," Chowdhuri quoted Hasina as telling Ban.
"She also asked the UN chief to urge the BNP to return to democracy eschewing violence, terrorism, and militancy," he said. Hasina told the UN chief that people spontaneously came out to vote and that law-enforcing agencies firmly maintained law and order.
"Pointing out that there was 44 per cent voter turnout, which was not unusual, the Prime Minister told Ban Ki-moon that there was no scope to point finger at the elections," Chowdhuri said.
"The Prime Minister told the UN chief that people did not respond to their (BNP) call for movement. Similarly, she said, they also failed to galvanise their leaders and activists on the field even after taking part in the elections."
"They could not send polling agents to the centres because they killed people during protests," Chowdhuri quoted the prime minister as saying.
She further told Ban the number of votes that BNP got even after boycotting the polls itself left little room to drag the vote into controversy.
"The Prime Minister told the UN chief that her government was committed to providing the people with peace and security. At the same time it's also working to uphold democracy in the country," the press secretary said.