BNP is taking a tough stance over the electoral environment. Its senior leaders are going to the Election Commission (EC) on Sunday to raise concerns about the neutrality of field‑level administration and law enforcement, and to seek solutions.
They may also outline BNP’s new thinking about the national election if a level playing field is not ensured at the grassroots.
A delegation led by the party’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir will meet with the EC around 5pm. BNP sources said the decision was taken during informal discussions among members of the party’s standing committee on Saturday.
Notably, BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman also spoke about the controversial role of the EC at a programme in Dhaka on Saturday.
Sources said that since the submission of nomination papers began, complaints from BNP grassroots about the lack of neutrality of government administration at the field level have reached the party high command, which then started gathering information independently.
According to information received from the field, BNP leaders believe that most of deputy commissioners, police superintendents, upazila executive officers, and officers‑in‑charge (OCs) across the country are loyal to a particular party. They were selected and appointed earlier under the interim government.
Although SP and OC postings were recently done by lottery, the list prepared for the lottery already included loyalists of one party. After these postings of DCs, SPs, UNOs, and OCs at the field level, the EC announced the election schedule. However, no changes were made in the field administration after the schedule of the 13th parliamentary election was declared.
During the voter list update, one party showed excessive interest in registering expatriates as voters and allowing them to cast ballots. While some BNP leaders viewed this with suspicion, their concerns were not given much importance.
Recently, BNP’s high command became alarmed after symbols were arranged on expatriates’ postal ballots and ballot papers were sent to Jamaat-e-Islami leaders in different countries.
BNP also considers the behaviour of law enforcement officials toward its activists in certain areas to be deliberate and targeted.
Altogether, BNP believes there is no level playing field in the upcoming election at the grassroots. That is why, the party is going to the EC to demand a fair environment including issues related to postal ballots.
According to a source, BNP also suspects the behaviour of certain officials within the commission, and the party may demand that they be barred from election duties.
