Crowley hopes all parties will participate in JS poll

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NEW YORK, Nov 22 (BSS): The United States (US) Congressman Joseph Crowley expressed the hope that Bangladesh's general elections would be held in a free and fair manner with the participation of all political parties.
"The upcoming parliamentary elections must be well accepted through participation of all major political parties," the congressman said at a reception Friday evening here.
Bangladesh Diaspora accorded the reception to Crowley at Dhaka Club in New York for his being reelected to the US Congress.
With District Leader of Democratic Party Mohammad Aminullah in the chair, it was addressed, among others, by president of America-Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) Gias Ahmed, secretary Hasanuzzaman Hasan and New York city council candidate Alauddin Bulu.
Crowley, also chairman of Bangladesh Caucus in the US Congress, said the needs for withdrawal of the state of emergency was a 'precondition' to create a congenial atmosphere for the upcoming elections in Bangladesh. He also wished a greater cooperation among the government, political parties and election commission to remove differences in this respect.
Terming Bangladesh a 'real friend' of the US, he said America wanted to see Bangladesh as a developed nation in terms of economic growth and practicing democratic norms and values. Human rights would be upheld in the country if the state of emergency was lifted once, he said.
"If Bangladesh wants to survive in the present world economic recession, it must have a democratically elected government to run the affairs," the congressman said adding that all have to play a proactive role to overcome the present political crises.
He also welcomed the announcement of BNP to participate in the general elections and said the differences should be settled through dialogues.