Ershads JP happy with new EC
The Jatiya Party (JP), led by HM Ershad, was all praise for the team chosen by the President for the next Election Commission (EC), headed by former secretary KM Nurul Huda. The party hoped that the new commission would be able to hold a free and fair general election in 2019. However, other political parties outside the two major alliances, led by the Awami League and the BNP, observed that without a supportive government, administration and political parties, no EC would be able to function properly. Leaders of these parties expect the new commission to be guided by the Constitution and the conscience of its members, without becoming a puppet of anyone.
Speaking at a press conference at Ershads Banani office, JP secretary general ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader hailed the new CEC, saying he is a freedom fighter and had worked impartially as a public official. We welcome him and hope that he will play a neutral role in the commission, he said.
Asked whether anyone from the list submitted by the JP had found a place in the new EC, Howlader parried the question by saying that it is a matter of the past.
We hope the new EC will be able to hold a proper election, he added. Jatiya Party leaders GM Quader and Syed Abu Hossain Babla, among others, were present on the occasion. Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) president Mujahidul Islam Selim and general secretary Syed Abu Zafar Ahmed released a joint statement. The party hoped that the new EC would hold free, fair and acceptable elections and not bow to any pressure.
The CPB leaders also expected the new commission to start dialogue with political parties to prepare the legal framework on appointment of the EC in accordance with Article 118 of the Constitution.
The president of the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Janata League (BKSJL), Bangabir Kader Siddique, hoped that the new commission members would be guided by their conscience and law of the land. He also hoped that they would not become a puppet. Replying to a question, Siddique said they had proposed the name of former EC official Jasmine Tuli, but are not unhappy with the appointment of another woman, Kabita Khanom.
The joint general secretary of Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh, Abdur Rouf Mannan, said two names suggested by the party have been chosen, but declined to disclose who they were. The EC is not a major factor as elections are controlled by musclemen. Good intentions of the government are important to hold a free and fair election, he added.
Maulana Abdul Latif Nezami, chairman of the Islami Oikya Jote, the faction outside the 20-Party Alliance, claimed that the name of the CEC was chosen from the list they had submitted. He said the EC alone cannot ensure a free and fair poll. Cooperation of the government, administration and political parties is necessary.
Nezami hoped that the new EC would play its due role in holding free and fair polls. The secretary general of the JSD (Rab), Abdul Malek Raton, said holding a free and fair poll does not depend on the EC. It depends on the neutral role of the government. How the EC behaves will only be known after it starts working, he noted. President Abdul Hamid formed the five-member EC, headed by KM Nurul Huda, on Monday night. Earlier, the President had held talks with 31 registered political parties before forming a six-member search committee to choose the CEC and other election commissioners. The search committee received 125 names from 25 political parties, while six parties refrained from submitting names.
