17 parties’ including BNP stay away from EC's dialogue

A total of seventeen registered political parties, including main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) did not participate in Saturday's discussions arranged by the Election Commission about preparations for the 12th parliamentary election.

The Election Commission organised two sessions with 22 parties each, with the first including Awami League at 10:30 am on Saturday and with 22 other parties including BNP and Jatiya Party at 3 pm.

Apart from the BNP, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal, Biplobi Workers Party, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Bangladesh Kallyan Party, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Muslim League BML and Bangladesh Muslim League, also abstained from the dialogue.

EC started discussion with registered political parties to inform them about preparations for the 12th parliamentary election.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal presided over the discussions at the Election Commission building in Dhaka’s Agargaon. The presidents and general secretaries of the parties, or alternatively two representatives of their choosing, were invited for the dialogue.

According to the constitution, parliamentary elections must be held in the 90 days before the end of the five-year term of parliament. The term of the current parliament ends on January 29, 2024 while the 90-day count started from November 1, 2023.

The Election Commission said that it is preparing to announce the schedule of the national election in mid-November and hold the election in January.