Bangladesh: Parties slam Yunus for 'misleading' remarks on elections

Dhaka, May 31 (IANS) Several political parties in Bangladesh reiterated their demand for holding the national election by December, rejecting recent remarks made by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus in Japan regarding the elections.

Yunus had said that "no one except one party wants elections in December," local media reported on Saturday.

The parties, including Gono Forum, the Left Democratic Alliance, and the 12-Party Alliance, have slammed Yunus's claim, calling it "false, misleading, and damaging to the political atmosphere."

"Under the same agenda, a newly formed political party supported by the government -- along with some radical communal groups and parties involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity during 1971 -- is engaging in various destructive activities to destabilise the country and sabotage the election," they said in a statement.

Over 50 registered and unregistered political parties have called for parliamentary elections by December and termed Yunus' comments a blatant falsehood and intentionally misleading, according to local media reports.

Meanwhile, Gono Forum labelled Yunus' remarks as "incorrect" and voiced concern that such statements from the chief advisor and others in the interim government were causing confusion and rift among political parties.

At the meeting of the Gono Forum praesidium council on Friday, a demand was made for the immediate announcement of a concrete election roadmap.

The leaders of the forum stated that in the past nine months, the interim regime had not taken any effective steps to restore law and order and address instability in public administration.

Additionally, the forum stated that no meaningful reforms or visible efforts had been made to guarantee free, fair, and credible elections, local media reported.

Furthermore, in a separate statement, the 12-Party Alliance stated that all parties have been demanding a December election for the past nine months and accused Yunus of trying to extend his political tenure through "political trickery" and of forming alliances with fundamentalist, unpopular, and anti-liberation groups.

According to a report of the country's leading daily Prothom Alo, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party stated that if a clear roadmap for the election is not announced within a month, the party will begin street programmes in July and move towards a strong movement against the interim government to ensure the election.

"We will wait a little longer so that the government comes to its senses. We believe the sooner the country moves toward democratic transition through elections, the better it will be for the people," BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said.

On the other hand, calls for the restoration of democracy have intensified amid a worsening political crisis.

Earlier this week, the BNP warned that the ongoing turmoil in Bangladesh under the Yunus-led interim government is set to worsen in the absence of any plan to hold elections in the near future.

Additionally, BNP Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas on Thursday unleashed a scathing attack on the interim government, declaring it "rotten from head to toe."

"This government is decaying from the top; it's rotten all the way to the bottom. They talk of reforms followed by elections. But if they couldn't do it in nine months, they won't do it in nine years or even 90. They should apologise to the nation and step aside," he said, addressing a rally in front of the BNP's central office at Naya Paltan.

The lack of a clear roadmap for reforms and holding elections fuelled a major political unrest in Bangladesh as Yunus held a series of meetings last week with leaders of various political parties who have been questioning his controversial policies and performance of his dubious advisors.

As pressure increased on Yunus, he had earlier expressed his desire to resign out of frustration -- a development that had created a huge buzz in political circles across the country.

Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman has stated that the next national election should be held by December and an elected government should be in power by January 1, 2026 after concluding "free and fair" polls.

--IANS

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