Silent rigging in KCC polls, Moudud demands

Senior Correspondent: BNP senior leader Moudud Ahmed demanded that silent rigging was occurred in Khulna City Corporation (KCC) polls with biased role of the Election Commission (EC).

He said, “Law enforcers were more active than the ruling party men in the election to ensure Awami League mayoral candidate’s victory through irregularities and rigging.”

“The same incidents will also happen in other city polls. We’ll now think afresh whether BNP should join the other city polls. It’s meaningless to join the election like Khulna’s one.”

Speaking at a discussion at the National Press Club on Friday, the BNP leader further said, “Only legal battle won’t be effective for Khaleda Zia’s releasel. We’ve no option but to be there on the streets and alongside carrying out the legal battle. We must now think of taking harsher programmes after eid.”

Laxmipur Jatiyatabadi Jubo Forum in Dhaka arranged the programme at the Jatiya Press Club, demanding the release of Khaleda and Jatiyatabadi Swechchhasebak Dal president Shafiul Bari Babu.

He came down hard on the Election Commission (EC) for its failure to hold the city polls in a fair and credible manner. “Khulna election exposed that the Commission has now turned into an incompetent, incapable, and partisan institution.”

Moudud also demanded reconstitution of the EC as no election is possible to hold in a fair and credible manner under the current Commission. “We’ll have to think deeply whether we’ll join polls anymore under it or not.”

He said BNP will have to wage a tougher street movement as only legal battle is not enough to have their chairperson Khaleda Zia freed from jail.

“Khaleda Zia’s release now depends on the judges of lower courts who are under the control of te government. They act as per the government’s directives since they have no accountability to the Supreme Court,” he said.

He also said the government will not budge from its current position on Khaleda and the next election amid a peaceful movement.

Moudud said lower courts are not independent as those are under the administration and the Law Ministry.

He said two Dhaka courts on Thursday fixed July 5 for passing an order on the bail petitions of Khaleda Zia in two separate cases only to prolong her stay in jail. “We now can’t free her from jail, though she got bail from the highest court due to the government’s plots and evil designs.”

The BNP leader said Khaleda will not be released from jail until she gets bail in the cases she was shown arrested.

Moudud urged the democratic forces to get united to intensify the movement for Khaleda’s release and resolve the political crisis.

risingbd/Dhaka/May 18, 2018/Reza/A K Azad