Polls won't be free, fair under Hasina

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) told on Monday the visiting US team that the upcoming elections will not be free and fair under the regime of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
"We (BNP) informed the US delegation about our views that a free and fair election is not possible under Sheikh Hasina (PM). We also informed them the situation has worsened more compared to the past. They (the ruling party) have taken away public voting rights during the last two elections," standing committee member of BNP Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury told the media after the meeting with the US team.
"The vote stealing project has now been strengthened more. Oppressions by the government on the opponents have been increased," he said.
"There is no conducive environment for elections that the European Union (EU) has already said. They (EU) said that they would not send observers during the upcoming elections. Now the US delegation has arrived in the country to work on the issue," he said.
"If the upcoming election is held under the present government then the people of the country would not be able to cast their votes. And there is no doubt about it," he mentioned while replying to a query regarding free and fair polls.
"What's the world said? Elections will not be free, fair and participatory under the present government. We told them (US team) about elections under a neutral caretaker government. But they (US team) would not say the issue exactly the way we say," he said.
"Foreigners would not say caretaker government issue directly. The demand for caretaker government has been raised from the people of the country," he said.
Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury further said that the US team would take decision whether they would send observers or not after talking to the country's people.
He said that the US team wanted to know about all issues from BNP during the meeting.
The meeting started at 10:20am at the party chairperson's office in the capital's Gulshan area.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, standing committee members Nazrul Islam Khan, Dr Abdul Moin Khan, adviser to party chairperson Ismail Jobiullah, party's organising secretary Shama Obaid and its human rights affairs secretary advocate Asaduzzaman Asad were present.

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