Workers' Party opposes upazila polls before JS

Workers' Party of Bangladesh (WPB) yesterday opposed the caretaker government's move to hold the local government polls before the parliamentary election.
“The government step to hold local government elections before the parliamentary polls seems to be part of certain political scheme,” said WPB President Rashed Khan Menon while speaking at a press conference at Shaheed Asad Auditorium at the WPB central office in the capital.
The WPB leaders said as per the constitutional framework, the government does not have the authority to hold local government polls before the national election. They also demanded that the government must lift the state of emergency and withdraw ban on political activities before holding any election in the country.
Menon, also a key leader of the Awami League led 14-party combine, said the persons who have been running the country from behind the scene are trying to depoliticise politics by holding local government elections before the parliamentary polls.
The WPB president hoped that the Election Commission (EC) would not be part of the 'political scheme' and would meet people's aspiration for a free, fair and credible election as per constitutional obligations.
It's a move to elect 'special persons' as per the special political scheme, he said adding that people would never accept such scheme.
He demanded that the government must hold dialogue with political parties right now to discuss the prevailing political crises and issues including that of local government elections.
WPB General Secretary Bimal Biswas said according to the constitution, it's not the duty of the caretaker government to entrust the responsibility of holding other elections to the EC. It should rather assist the commission in holding the parliamentary election.
“If the government makes such a move, it will be unconstitutional,” he added.