Making polls participatory not just AL’s responsibility

Ensuring a participatory election is the responsibility of not only the ruling Awami League but also of all political parties including BNP, said Information Minister Hasan Mahmud yesterday.

If any party boycotts the election or tries to prevent it, then they will be held responsible to make the polls non-participatory, he said.

During a press briefing at his Chattogram city residence, Hasan Mahmud said in the February 16 meeting led by the AL general secretary with various European Union ambassadors, a free and participatory polls took precedence over other issues.

"We… want all political parties -- including BNP -- to participate in the upcoming general elections," he said.

He said, in the world, the caretaker government system only exists in Pakistan. "The question is why does BNP want to imitate Pakistan? There will never be a caretaker government in Bangladesh," he said.