Islami Andolan too skips EC formation talks with president

Islami Andolan Bangladesh, a religious-based political party in the country, has announced that it will not take part in the Election Commission formation talks with President Abdul Hamid.

Syed Mohammad Rezaul Karim, amir of the party, came up with the announcement during a press conference held at the party’s Purana Paltan central office in Dhaka on Saturday.

Earlier, the BNP, Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal and Mostafa Mohsin Montu-led faction of Gano Forum already skipped the presidential talks on political grounds.

“We were extremely disappointed after taking part in the talks in 2012 and 2017. The EC formed in 2012 arranged unilateral elections in 2014 reflecting wills of the then ruling Awami League. Later, the EC formed in 2017 also held unexpected and controversial elections. Many people termed it as midnight elections,” Rezaul Karim said.

The party also expressed its frustration as the president did neither hold the ECs accountable nor take any action against them for holding such stigmatised elections, Rezaul Karim.

He said his party had put forward a number of recommendations during the previous talks with the president to hold the national elections in free, fair and transparent manner but those have not been evaluated, he said.

The incumbent president has been appointed by the ruling Awami League and thus he could not go beyond the interest of the ruling party, he said.

All the past two presidential talks did not fulfil the people’s expectation and the outcome of the ongoing talks will be the same, he said.

The president began the talks with different political parties on December 27. He is scheduled to sit with 39 registered political parties.

However, the BNP, which is the second-largest political party after the ruling Awami League, has been saying that it will not take part in the talks.