EC encourages BNP ‘participation’ in upcoming polls

Calling upon the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to participate in the upcoming national elections, Election Commissioner Mohammad Alamgir said on Sunday that they wanted the BNP to participate in the polls.
"We [Election Commission or EC] want to see the participation of all political parties in the next elections. We also want them [BNP] to participate in the polls," he told the media at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital's Agargaon area.
Alamgir said the EC has a track record of conducting elections in a peaceful and impartial manner and expressed confidence in their ability to maintain this standard in the upcoming polls.
Addressing concerns about BNP's reluctance to participate, he said, "We don't have any tension about elections. Did you ever [media] see us engulfed with tensions? We are fully confident that there will be elections."
He acknowledged that historically not all political parties participate in elections, citing the example of the 1970 elections.

talhabinhabib@yahoo.com