Awami League (AL) general secretary Obaidul Quader yesterday expressed hope that President Abdul Hamid would form the next Election Commission (EC) comprising neutral persons. “The President is our guardian. We hope our president will reconstitute a neutral EC whose members will neither be pro-AL or pro-BNP,” Quader said while addressing the triennial council session of the AL's Dhaka south unit at ward no. 20. Ward unit president Sheikh Saidur Rahman Babu presided over the council. Criticising BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia for allegedly forming a partisan EC earlier, the AL leader said, “You are saying you will not accept the next EC if it is formed as per the government’s direction. I want to say to you that you made an Aziz-style EC earlier. Was Mr Aziz not a BNP man? And now your party is proposing the name of former chief justice KM Hasan as a member of the search committee. But is KM Hasan not a BNP man? Then, which one is neutral?” He, however, asserted that the government would not interfere in the formation of the next EC.
On Saturday night, Khaleda Zia had said that her party would not accept any ‘spineless’ EC formed as per the will of Prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Quader, also the road, transport and bridges minister, called upon leaders and workers of the ruling party to rectify themselves, saying that they might face dire consequences for their misdeeds in the near future. Recalling the BNP-Jamaat backed government’s repression on opposition activists during 2001-2006, Quader said if the BNP-Jamaat combine came to power again, it would carry out terrible oppression on AL leaders and workers. “So, we will have to remain alert and work to strengthen the hands of Sheikh Hasina,” he added.   
The AL leader also warned MPs of stern action if they failed to mend their ways. “I have already warned some of our party lawmakers, saying no misdeeds will be tolerated in the name of the party or Sheikh Hasina,” he iterated. He said party leaders and workers must win people’s hearts by good work. He warned party activists not to tarnish the image of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. About the party's tough stance against wrongdoers, Quader said there were several instances of many being detained and expelled from the party for their alleged involvement in criminal activities. He also said AL joint general secretaries and organising secretaries had started working at the grassroots level to prepare for the next parliamentary elections due in 2019. He told party leaders and workers not to take an AL victory for granted and make preparations keeping in mind that it would be an open contest.