The fear of an unfair election being held is not being dispelled, said Debapriya Bhattacharya, Fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).
He said, “The election has gradually become an inevitable matter, and the forces in favour of the election are very strong; citizens want the election, major political parties want the election, business groups want the election, the army and law enforcement agencies want the election, and the caretaker government wants the election – thus, the forces in favor of the election are strong. But the fear regarding a possible unfair election is not being dispelled.”
He said these words at a pre-election regional consultation meeting organised by the “Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh” in Chattogram on Wednesday.
Debapriya Bhattacharya said, “The Election Commission must dispel this fear and certainly conduct a good, acceptable election.”
He further said, “Everyone accepts that the election will be held, but the fear that it will be a good election, an acceptable election – this fear is still not being overcome. Yunus said he will show the best in history; we are waiting to see that.”
At the event, Jamaat’s Central Assistant General Secretary Muhammad Shahjahan said, “The country is power-centric; the country must be built as citizen-friendly, citizen forums must be established everywhere, and citizens must unite.”
At the event, people from various classes and professions presented their expectations from the elected government. In the discussion, people highlighted issues such as security, good governance, humanitarian and civil rights, secularism, a corruption-free country, transparency, accountability, providing dignity to the third gender, etc, for the next government.
Present at the time, among others, were CPD Fellow Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Additional Research Director Tawfiqul Islam Khan, East Delta University VC Professor Nazim Uddin, former Professor of Chattogram University Sekandar Khan, Executive Director of AOPKA Md. Almgir, Chattogram University Central Students’ Union (Chakshu) Social Welfare Secretary Tahsina Rahman, Joint General Secretary of Utshoron-Chattogram University Tania Akter Mahi, and others.
It was stated at the event that on the upcoming 20 December, the expectations of people from 8 districts and the youth community from 18 universities will be presented to the political parties as a citizen’s manifesto.
