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BNP Senior Joint General Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has held a meeting with the Election Commission (EC) regarding the amendment of the Representation of the People Order (RPO) and redrawing the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies.
Following the meeting, Rizvi said: “Accomplices (of the fascists) remain at every level of the administration. We asked them (EC) what positions these accomplices hold, and whether they would create any hindrance.”
The BNP review committee on redrawing constituencies, led by Rizvi, arrived at the EC office on Sunday. Former secretary Ismail Zabiullah, advisor to the BNP chairperson, accompanied him.
The EC has already finalised the revised Representation of the People Order (RPO), which is expected to be sent to the relevant ministry within a couple of days. The hearing on redrawing constituencies has been completed, and it is expected to be gazetted by Sept 15.
The BNP delegation held separate meetings with Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud on the RPO issue and Md Anwarul Islam Sarkar on the boundary redrawing issue.
Following the meeting, Rizvi said: “We have learnt the overall issues of RPO amendment and delimitation. Since the party has a commitment regarding the voting rights of expatriates, we also wanted to know about that.”
“We heard about the progress of the postal ballot. We queried about how the preparations are overall. We went there to know about the overall preparations, not of specific seats. They shared with us as much as they could.”
Rizvi said they had doubts about the fairness of elections in the country as the “accomplices” of the Awami League lurked in the administration and could still hatch a conspiracy.
He said, “The (EC) is an administration as well; although it’s an independent body, a sovereign entity. It has different levels where the accomplices (of the Awami League) still exist. The accomplices are adopting different means to ensure that a free, fair election can be foiled. They are connected to a vast plan and are using different strategies everywhere.”
“We’ve seen many incidents in the civil administration. That was something we wanted to know from the EC. We asked the EC where the accomplices are now and if they are creating any hindrance.”
Rizvi, however, did not provide any details of the EC’s response.
“The EC has taken the necessary preparations to hold a free, and fair election. They have enough confidence.”
When asked if the party had trust in the current EC to hold an election, Rizvi said: “We believe, from our conversations, meetings with the EC and updates from them, we hope that the current EC will be able to hold a free, fair, inclusive and participatory election. They don’t lack sincerity at all.”