AL, BNP demand scrapping of RPO
Saturday, 23 August 2008
Both Awami League and BNP Friday demanded scrapping of the Representation of People Order (Amendment) Ordinance 2008, enforced earlier on Thursday, reports bdnews24.com.
The Awami League also demanded holding of the parliamentary elections by the third week of October and consultations with political parties on the new electoral laws.
'By enforcing such ordinances the government wants to make political parties front offices of the Election Commission. They are doing this to control the political parties,' BNP secretary general Khandker Delwar Hossain said.
He questioned if the caretaker government had the constitutional mandate to enforce the Representation of the People Order (Amendment) Ordinance 2008.
On the other hand, speaking at a discussion at the AL central office in the city presidium member Amir Hossain Amu said, 'Not on December 22, hold the elections in the second or third week of October and hand over power to an elected government.'
The meeting was organised by the party's women front Mohila Awami League in memory of those killed in the grenade attack on an AL rally on August 21, 2004.
Amu demanded that the Representation of the People Order (Amendment) Ordinance 2008 that took effect Thursday be enforced in consultation with all the stakeholders.
"We want transfer of power through a fair election," he said.
His presidium colleague Tofail Ahmed asked the interim government not to frame laws that the political parties would not accept.
The new laws make registration of political parties mandatory and ban their front organisations.
He accused the Election Commission of throwing the general elections into uncertainty.
The new law has provisions for "no" vote and allows a person to run for a maximum of three seats.
One needs to be a voter to become a candidate and the candidate has to provide eight pieces of information.
"Nothing has happened as per the roadmap (of the Election Commission). The roadmap stipulated electoral laws in February, registration of political parties in June and finalisation of the voter list in July but nothing happened in that order."
"The government was trying to control political parties. To meet the conditions the Election Commission set, each party will have to hold a conference," he said.
"Don't create a situation that makes the elections uncertain."
However, speaking at the inaugural function of the fifth council session of the BNP-led four-party alliance's component Khelafat Majlish at the Institution of Engineers in the city, Delwar said, "The caretaker government has no jurisdiction to frame any new law. Their responsibility is solely to hold a free and fair election in 90 days. But they are making one law after another and illegally making important state decisions."
President Iajuddin Ahmed on August 19 signed the 1972 Representation of the People Order (Amendment) Ordinance 2008 and it was put into force through publication of a circular Thursday.
Delwar again asked the government to release party chief Khaleda Zia and send her son Tarique Rahman abroad for treatment.
Without mentioning names, he said, on the one hand, the government was releasing the chief, general secretary and others of a party and allowing them to go abroad but unjustly keeping the BNP chief in confinement, on the other.
The High Court had put freezes on the trial of the cases against Khaleda and a medical board had said Tarique needed immediate treatment abroad, but the government would not let him go.
"Such behaviour of the government is discriminatory."
He also condemned the police obstruction of the four-party alliance's planned march Thursday to submit a memorandum to the Chief Adviser.
Khelafat Majlish chief Mohammad Ishaque presided over the council where Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general Muhammad Qamaruzzaman, Khelafat Majlish secretary general Ahmed Abdul Quader also spoke.
The Awami League also demanded holding of the parliamentary elections by the third week of October and consultations with political parties on the new electoral laws.
'By enforcing such ordinances the government wants to make political parties front offices of the Election Commission. They are doing this to control the political parties,' BNP secretary general Khandker Delwar Hossain said.
He questioned if the caretaker government had the constitutional mandate to enforce the Representation of the People Order (Amendment) Ordinance 2008.
On the other hand, speaking at a discussion at the AL central office in the city presidium member Amir Hossain Amu said, 'Not on December 22, hold the elections in the second or third week of October and hand over power to an elected government.'
The meeting was organised by the party's women front Mohila Awami League in memory of those killed in the grenade attack on an AL rally on August 21, 2004.
Amu demanded that the Representation of the People Order (Amendment) Ordinance 2008 that took effect Thursday be enforced in consultation with all the stakeholders.
"We want transfer of power through a fair election," he said.
His presidium colleague Tofail Ahmed asked the interim government not to frame laws that the political parties would not accept.
The new laws make registration of political parties mandatory and ban their front organisations.
He accused the Election Commission of throwing the general elections into uncertainty.
The new law has provisions for "no" vote and allows a person to run for a maximum of three seats.
One needs to be a voter to become a candidate and the candidate has to provide eight pieces of information.
"Nothing has happened as per the roadmap (of the Election Commission). The roadmap stipulated electoral laws in February, registration of political parties in June and finalisation of the voter list in July but nothing happened in that order."
"The government was trying to control political parties. To meet the conditions the Election Commission set, each party will have to hold a conference," he said.
"Don't create a situation that makes the elections uncertain."
However, speaking at the inaugural function of the fifth council session of the BNP-led four-party alliance's component Khelafat Majlish at the Institution of Engineers in the city, Delwar said, "The caretaker government has no jurisdiction to frame any new law. Their responsibility is solely to hold a free and fair election in 90 days. But they are making one law after another and illegally making important state decisions."
President Iajuddin Ahmed on August 19 signed the 1972 Representation of the People Order (Amendment) Ordinance 2008 and it was put into force through publication of a circular Thursday.
Delwar again asked the government to release party chief Khaleda Zia and send her son Tarique Rahman abroad for treatment.
Without mentioning names, he said, on the one hand, the government was releasing the chief, general secretary and others of a party and allowing them to go abroad but unjustly keeping the BNP chief in confinement, on the other.
The High Court had put freezes on the trial of the cases against Khaleda and a medical board had said Tarique needed immediate treatment abroad, but the government would not let him go.
"Such behaviour of the government is discriminatory."
He also condemned the police obstruction of the four-party alliance's planned march Thursday to submit a memorandum to the Chief Adviser.
Khelafat Majlish chief Mohammad Ishaque presided over the council where Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general Muhammad Qamaruzzaman, Khelafat Majlish secretary general Ahmed Abdul Quader also spoke.