AL to take part in EC dialogue
Leaders of Awami League Central Working Committee hold a meeting at the party's Dhanmondi office in the capital yesterday with acting President Zillur Rahman in the chair.Photo: STAR
Awami League (AL) will participate in the Election Commission's (EC) dialogue over electoral reforms on November 4.
The decision came at an AL Central Working Committee (ALCWC) meeting held at party President Sheikh Hasina's Dhanmondi office yesterday.
Chaired by acting president Zillur Rahman, the meeting called for complete withdrawal of the ban on indoor politics and immediate lifting of the state of emergency.
It decided to send a letter to the EC seeking expansion of the AL delegation from 10 to 16 members. Earlier on Friday, the EC sent a formal invitation to the AL for its ongoing dialogue that began on September 12. It asked the party to send a 10-member delegation.
The meeting, which has been adjourned till November 1, formed a 16-member sub-committee to review thoroughly the EC's draft proposals for electoral reforms. Presidium Member Tofail Ahmed will head the committee while acting general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam will be its member secretary.
The other members are Suranjit Sengupta, Motia Chowdhury, Abul Mal Abdul Muhith, Advocate Rahmat Ali, Mukul Bose, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Abdul Mannan, Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Akhtaruzzaman, Sultan Mohammad Mansur Ahmed, Abdur Rahman, Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin, Abdul Latif Siddiqui, and AKM Jahangir Hossain.
The committee will meet in a day or two to begin preparations for the dialogue. It will work out a set of recommendations to be placed at the talks. The working committee will discuss and finalise the recommendations at a meeting on November 1.
Yesterday's meeting, the second without the party president and general secretary, demanded that the government take urgent steps to free Sheikh Hasina and take back all the "false and fabricated" charges against her. It also called for release of the general secretary and the other leaders and workers of the party and its front organisations.
Out of 73 members, 43 attended the meeting. Twelve including the party president, general secretary and three presidium members are behind bars, four have died and the rest are either absconding or staying abroad.
The ALCWC decided to continue the legal efforts to free Hasina, who has been detained since July 16 on extortion charges.
It observed that the detained teachers and students of Dhaka University and Rajshahi University should be released on humanitarian grounds before reopening of the institutions.
It urged the government to set up a body to ensure the prices of essentials remain within the reach of common people, sufficient fertiliser supply to the farmers and other facilities for them.
According to the meeting decisions, the AL and its different wings will observe the Jail Killings Day on November 3.
The last time when the ALCWC met on September 12 four senior party leaders were manhandled by a group of party activists.
Comments