Restore caretaker, then form EC

BNP chief Khaleda Zia exchanges greetings with President Zillur Rahman ahead of the talks on constituting the next Election Commission at Bangabhaban yesterday. Photo: PID

The main opposition BNP yesterday urged President Zillur Rahman to take the initiative to restore the caretaker government system before the formation of a new Election Commission.
“The nation will not accept the formation of a new Election Commission without a restoration of the caretaker government system,” BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia said in a statement during the talks with the president on the constitution of a new EC.
“We urge you to take steps to create a political atmosphere suitable for elections, and form a competent and neutral Election Commission through consensus of all political parties after the restoration of the caretaker government system,” said Khaleda, who led a 15-member BNP delegation to the talks at Bangabhaban.
Nearly an hour after the talks ended at about 12:15pm, the BNP delegation termed yesterday's talks with the president unfruitful and said the president had informed them about his constitutional limitations on the caretaker government issue.
“I am bound by the constitution. I have no jurisdiction beyond constitutional powers,” acting BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir quoted the president as saying.
“He [the president], however, has assured us that he will convey our demands and proposals to the government,” Alamgir, said at a press conference at the party's Naya Paltan office in the capital.
The caretaker government system was scrapped on June 30 last year through the 15th amendment to the constitution.
The president's ongoing dialogue with political parties draws to an end through talks with the ruling Awami League today.
“The opposition has shown a positive gesture by participating in the talks with the president. Such a positive response from the opposition is the first of its kind since the restoration of democracy in the country in 1990,” the BNP leader told The Daily Star after the briefing.
“And now it is the government that should show a positive attitude toward meeting our demands.”
Referring to experts' opinions relating to a now-defunct parliamentary special committee on constitutional amendments, Khaleda told the president that all the experts had talked in favour of the caretaker government system. They said the country was yet to reach a situation where polls could be held under a political government.
The BNP chief also told him that her party was ready to participate in talks to resolve the political standoff arising out of the abrogation of the caretaker government system.
Fakhrul said the BNP had mostly discussed caretaker government-related issues during the talks. “We did not show any interest in discussing the formation of a new Election Commission.”
He said the BNP delegation drew the president's attention to repression on opposition leaders and activists, and the filing of “false cases” against them.
They called upon the president to take the initiative in creating a congenial atmosphere for politics in the country.
The party also spoke against the use of electronic voting machines in the general elections. In support of its argument, it cited examples from six countries, including the USA, Germany, Finland, the United Kingdom and Ireland, where the use of EVM had been stopped on different grounds.
It may be mentioned that the president on December 22 last year began a dialogue with political parties to discuss the constitution of a new Election Commission. The tenure of the current commission expires on February 14.