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Former Election Commissioner and an adviser to the current interim government, Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain, on Saturday said that arranging a free, fair, and acceptable election was the commitment of the interim government.
He also said that it was not the government's responsibility to see which political party participates in the upcoming election and which does not.
"We want to have a free and fair election that is the commitment of the interim government. We want to tell the people that a free and fair society in Bangladesh will begin with a good election," said Mr Sakhawat.
"It is not our concern which party comes to this election or not; the Election Commission will look into that, and they do the political thinking," he added.
He made the remarks while speaking at a view-exchange meeting with stakeholders on various aspects of the EC's regulations for media coverage during elections.
The meeting was organised by the Broadcast Journalists Center-BJC and the Reporters Forum for Elections and Democracy-RFED to review the guidelines for journalists formulated by the Election Commission regarding the upcoming 13th national elections, which held at a conference centre in the city's Kawranbazar area on Saturday.
The shipping adviser said that the role of journalists is undeniable in ensuring a free, fair, and acceptable election.
"The interim government also wants to organise such an election," he added.
He further said, after 2008, many voters could not cast their votes. Many young people do not even know how to vote.
BJC President Rezwanul Haque chaired the event where journalists expressed their views on the guidelines for reporters in the elections.
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