Reiterating that the next general election will surely be held in a free, fair and impartial manner, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said no one will be allowed to play ducks and drakes with people's franchise, reports UNB.

"The next general election will certainly be held in a free, fair and neutral manner ... no one will be allowed to play game with people's voting rights and we won't let this happen," she said.

 Sheikh Hasina, also Awami League President, was delivering her introductory speech at a meeting of the Awami League Central Working Committee (ALCWC) at her official residence Ganobhaban in the evening.

She said the Election Commission will hold the next parliamentary elections fully independently. "We'll ensure it," she said, adding that there is no scope of unnecessarily entering troubled waters about the polls.

 about BNP's demand for holding a free and fair election in the country, Hasina said the party should first look in the mirror as it had first staged farcical elections. "I wonder and laugh when BNP talks about free and fair elections in the country ... I think they should look in the mirror," she said.

She said whatever election-related bad incidents took place in the country, those happened during the rule of the BNP. "This party had first influenced the polls and staged farcical elections," she said.

The Prime Minister alleged that after grabbing power illegally violating the Constitution, General Zia staged the "Yes-No" vote farce. "Ziaur Rahman also staged farcical presidential elections where record 100 percent votes were cast and after the polls, he formed BNP."

She said BNP is such a party which was formed by the man who captured power illegally. "The country's people haven't forgotten the repression, torture and exploitation that BNP unleashed when they were in power."

 Hasina said BNP rigged the 1979 election by capturing polling booths like they captured the February-15 polls in 1996. "Almost all BNP candidates were elected unopposed in the February-15 polls and no election was held in 18 seats at that time ... so I don't know how they talk about the fair polls."

She mentioned the vote-rigging in the Magura, Mirpur and Dhaka-10 by-elections during the BNP government, saying BNP snatched and destroyed people's voting rights.

 The Prime Minister said her government has ensured the rights to vote and Constitution and this will continue. "We've waged a movement for vote and food and established these rights ... it's the Awami League government which raised the slogan 'Amar vote ami debo, jake khushi take dibo' (I'll vote for whom I wish)," she said.