Awami League (AL) general secretary and roads, transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said the next general election will be held on time even if the party’s arch enemy, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), were to boycott the poll, scheduled to be held in late 2018 or early 2019. “There is no scope to disrupt the continuation of the ongoing democratic process in the country anymore. The next polls will be held on time in line with the Constitution, even if the BNP doesn’t join them,” he said.

The minister made this statement while talking to media persons in Jessore after visiting the construction work of the Jessore-Khulna highway. The BNP had boycotted the January 5 general elections of 2014. As a result, its arch rival—the AL—secured 153 parliamentary seats uncontested in those polls.

“The electoral train will go on. There is no scope to stop the next polls. What is the fault of democracy if the BNP doesn’t take part in the next polls? However, I think the BNP will surely join the elections,” the AL general secretary said. “We have repeatedly told the BNP that it should join the next general elections for the sake of democracy and that we want a participatory election,” he said. He also said the BNP would not repeat its past mistake by boycotting the next polls, so as to ensure its existence. The AL general secretary visited Jessore district as part of efforts to inaugurate the party’s membership collection drives.