Polls can’t be fair under AL govt

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday said it is now a fact that elections can never be free, fair and credible under the current Awami League government.

Addressing the biennial general meeting of a faction of Dhaka Union of Journalists at  Jatiya Press Club, he also said if the election is not participatory, it will not be accepted as per the country's constitution.

He alleged the government has already snatched the people's freedom of expression and voting rights to cement its power.

Fakhrul also said it is now recognised in the world that there is no place for independent journalism in Bangladesh.

As Bangladesh is now completely in the hands of an authoritarian ruler, he said freedom of the press, the main pillar of democracy, has been regulated here by the regime to meet their needs.

"They (govt) are hindering people's freedom to dissent and the right to vote by applying excessive force to establish a one-party rule," he added.