AL to pick candidates in line with EC laws

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Bangladesh Awami League says it will pick candidates for the general elections in line with the procedure set in the new electoral laws, reports bdnews24.com.
The party is also contemplating fundraising to finance campaigns for the elections, acting general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said in an exclusive interview with the bdnews24.com senior reporter Sumon Mahbub Tuesday.
He said two members of the party's advisory council had been tasked with suggesting the changes to the constitution to make the party eligible for registration with the Election Commission.
Ashraf said all party operations were focused on the national elections slated for December 18.
The election coordination committee headed by HT Imam, a member of advisory council, had started preparatory activities. Imam will be assisted by a number of retired civil and military bureaucrats, the stand-in general secretary said.
"The committee will organise training programme for the polling agents, publish leaflets, collect voter lists, start campaigning and many other related things."
"The polls committee formed prior to the forestalled January 22, 2007 polls were mandated to assist (party chief) Sheikh Hasina. What exactly the committee should do this time should be decided by the party president herself when she returns," said Ashraf about the terms of reference of the polls coordination committee.
The AL would go for election-focused advertisements through the print and electronic media-the newspapers, radio and the TV, he said. Adverts through SMS and e-mail should also be used, he said.
Asked if they would start fundraising through public announcements to ensure financial transparency, he said they would like to adopt measures similar to the ones they had preferred after cyclone 'Sidr'.
Asked how the party should nominate candidates for the parliamentary polls, Ashraf said: "We'll follow the detailed procedure delineated in the RPO, which involves the grassroots compulsively."
He said the AL would register with the EC after the Eid-ul-Fitr.
HT Imam and Abul Mal Abdul Muhit have been vested with the responsibility of locating and determining the changes required in the constitution for subsequent approval by the executive council and deposition with the EC, he added.
On the rejuvenation of the 'grand alliance', he said: "The party president will make a decision about that. The alliance this time might turn out to be a bit different though."
Any party may join the 'grand alliance', Ashraf said, adding, however: "I am not referring to those parties born after Jan 11, 2007."
"Parties such as CPB (Communist Party of Bangladesh) may join; we will try and bring them in to the alliance."
On Hasina's return, he said it was becoming "a little uncertain" whether the AL chief would be back in the first week of October.