No scope of polls under unelected govt: president

President Mohammed Shahabuddin today said there is no scope of holding an election under an unelected government.

The national elections will be held according to the constitution, the president said while addressing an event in Pabna as the chief guest this morning.

He is on a four-day tour in his hometown, the first as the head of state, reports our Pabna correspondent.

Photo: Star

"Nothing will happen in Bangladesh by-passing the constitution. Respecting the charter, the election will be held under an independent election commission," he said.

Referring to the previous caretaker governments, the president said, "In the past, elections were held under unelected government out of necessity. Now, there is no scope of holding elections under such government."

"Unelected governments can't be desirable in a democracy. A government elected by the people is a legitimate one. The constitution's Article 58 has been amended to reflect that." the president said.

Claiming the election commission is independent, he said, "The election will be impartial and neutral."

The president urged all the political parties to participate in the upcoming election after resolving all issues through dialogues for the sake of democracy.

The president attended a series of programmes organised by different organisations in Pabna in the last three days.