CG to transfer power to elected govt soon after fair polls: CA

FE Team | Published: June 10, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Chief Adviser (CA) of caretaker government (CG) Fakhruddin Ahmad informed the visiting EU-Troika delegation that his government was committed to holding a free, fair and credible election after completion of the ongoing reforms to hand over power to an elected government as early as possible, reports UNB.
"The present CG is committed to democracy. To hold a free, fair and neutral election it needs reform, error-free voter list, the minimising of influence of muscle, money and misuse of authority," the CA told the delegation.
A 10-member delegation of the EU-Troika led by Ambassador Andreas Michaelis called on the CA at his office Saturday afternoon when socioeconomic and electoral issues were discussed.
The CA said besides holding a fair election, which is the main focus of the government, its goal is also to fight corruption and to bring the corrupt to justice to reduce corruption, according to his Press Secretary Syed Fahim Munaim, who was present at the meeting.
He said the Election Commission (EC) has given an 18-month timeframe to hold the election and the government is assisting in their tasks.
In this connection he said a pilot project on voter list with photographs and national ID card would begin today (June 10), which shows the EC is working and serious about their tasks towards fair election.
As the delegation dwelt on EC's consultation with political parties, Ahmad said the EC would determine it mentioning the EC's dialogue with different professional groups.
Regarding withdrawal of the ban on indoor politics, the CA said the CG is aware of it and the ban would be lifted in due time.
He said the media here are fully free and acting as a link between the government and the people. "People are our main strength. We are being tested everyday," he told the Europeans.
He said he himself, advisers to the CG and the EC are interacting and consulting people in different ways.
The EU delegation said they are highly impressed with the present CG policies and reforms. As far as they met and talked different groups in last four days, they got positive remarks about the government's consistent polices, he added.
Even during meeting with the AL and the BNP, the two parties did not make criticism about the CG's reforms and policies, the delegation apprised the CA.
The EU-troika offered support in economical, electoral and political reforms to the CG, if needs be.
The delegation said they are "pleased with the confidence of the EC and it would give a roadmap in mid-July".
They said they fully support the CG's policies and reform and would prepare a report on the outcome of their mission and send a copy of it to the CG.
The EU-troika also said press and civil society in Bangladesh are lively.
During briefing the background of the CG and its performance, the CA said the government has taken step to set up national human rights commission (NHRC) and constituted a committee to strengthen local government and would carry out efforts "to keep the wheels of economy moving".
He also said this is for the first time that all sections of people of the country could participate in providing suggestions towards the proposed budget till June 14.
Foreign Affairs Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury was also present on the occasion.