Jamaat, seven other parties hold meeting with CEC

Delegations from eight political parties who came to the Election Commission (EC) to submit a memorandum demanding a referendum in November have met Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin.

EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed was also present at the meeting, which began at 1pm on Thursday, reports bdnews24.com.

Earlier, EC officials struggled to handle the leaders and activists of eight parties who gathered in front of the body’s headquarters. They initially came to the office saying they would submit a memorandum, but then demanded a meeting with the CEC.

When each party demanded a separate meeting, EC officials allowed a few representatives from each party to enter the building.

They will hand over the memorandum to the CEC after the meeting.

Since Sept 30, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Khilafat Majlis, Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis, Bangladesh Nejame Islam Party, The Bangladesh Khilafat Movement, the Jatiya Ganatantrik Party-JAGPA, and the Bangladesh Development Party have been protesting for a five-point list of demands.

Eight like-minded political parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami, announced a three-day protest programme on Oct 19 as part of the fourth phase of the ongoing movement.

In continuation of the protests, they went to the Election Commission office to submit a memorandum following the rally nearby.

Their five-point list of demands are as follows:

• Issue an order to implement the July National Charter and hold a referendum on it by November

• Introduce proportional representation (PR) in both parliamentary houses in the next national election

• Ensure a level-playing field for all to guarantee free, fair and acceptable polls

• Bring to justice all acts of oppression, genocide and corruption by the “fascist" government

• Ban the activities of the “autocratic” regime’s ally, the Bangladesh Jatiya Party, and the 14-Party Alliance