No point of sitting with EC

Rejecting the Election Commission's invitation for informal talks, the BNP policymakers think any meeting with the commission is meaningless since it has no power to resolve the political crisis.

The party, however, thanked Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal for sending a letter inviting the BNP for a discussion. 

"Our standing committee feels that any discussion or dialogue with the Election Commission will not be fruitful and will be meaningless until the main political crisis regarding the election-time government is resolved," BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told journalists at a press conference at the party chairperson's Gulshan office yesterday.

The BNP yesterday in a meeting of the standing committee, its highest policy-making body, discussed the letter sent by the CEC to the secretary general. 

Fakhrul said the national elections in 2014 and 2018 have proved that the Election Commission is not independent and it does not have the power to conduct elections in a free, fair and impartial manner, even if it is willing to do so.

"It was decided in our meeting that the BNP is unable to accept the Election Commission's invitation because there is no possibility of resolving the main political problem through a discussion or view-exchange meeting with the commission."

Replying to a question, Fakhrul said they will not send any letter to the EC conveying the party decision. "I am informing him [CEC] about our decision through this press conference. I hope he would accept our opinion." 

In response to another question, Fakhrul said there is no point in sitting with the EC which has no power to resolve the problem of the country and its people.

"He [CEC] is not a mailbox where we will drop a letter for sending it to the government. It is absolutely a matter of the government. Since the government has the two-thirds majority in parliament, it can do this and nobody else can take this decision."

He added the party will consider if the government proposes talks on the caretaker government issue. "There'll be no talks except for that on the issue of polls-time neutral government."