Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Leader of the Opposition Shafiqur Rahman said on Saturday that his party would participate in the upcoming local government elections if a level playing field was ensured for all contestants.
Speaking at a discussion with print and electronic media journalists at Moulvibazar Circuit House, he expressed concern over the election environment, saying he saw no positive signs ahead of the polls.
“We will certainly try to clear the way for elections before the polls. We will demand a level playing field. When equal opportunities are ensured for everyone in the election, we will participate,” he said.
Shafiqur said his party wanted to defend people’s rights and ensure that voters could freely choose their representatives, reports UNB.
“We do not want to be anyone’s scapegoat; we want to fight for people’s rights. We want the person chosen by the people through their votes to come to power,” he said.
Referring to reported remarks by the Chief Whip that areas where Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidates failed to win would not receive government allocations, Shafiqur alleged that such statements were intimidating voters ahead of the elections.
“This is shameful. Through this, people are being intimidated in advance. If elections are held amid such intimidation and partisan influence, there is little possibility of them being fair,” he said.
The Jamaat chief also questioned the appointment of a retired BNP cadre as an additional secretary to the Election Commission, asking why a person affiliated with a political party had been appointed to the institution.
He criticised the government over the law and order situation, alleging that public security had shown no visible improvement despite claims by government officials to the contrary.
Several central and local Jamaat leaders attended the programme.
It was Shafiqur’s first visit to his home district of Moulvibazar since the national parliamentary election.
