Quader: Polls won’t defer even if someone boycotts

The 11th general election will not be postponed even if any party decides to boycott it, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said on Wednesday.

His remarks, pointedtowards BNP which had boycotted the last general polls, came at a press briefing held at the ruling party chief’s political office in Dhanmondi, Dhaka Wednesday afternoon.

“There is no doubt that the election will be held. The media has not run any news on any confusion on that either. Insha Allah, the election will be held on time,” he said.

Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, added that the election would not be deferred even if anyone decided to pull out from the race.

The next parliamentary election is scheduled to be held across Bangladesh on December 30.

The ruling party leader’s remarks came in the backdrop of BNP’s threat to launch a movement if the arrests of their leaders and activists did not stop ahead of the election.

BNP has decided to go to the polls this time around after joining forces with Dr Kamal Hossain-led Gono Forum. The parties, along with several others, formed an alliance named Jatiya Oikya Front in October, which has become a major opposition in the country’s political arena before the election.

The coalition has been urging the Election Commission to take steps to stop the cases against and arrests of opposition members, apart from reorganizing both public and police administrations, to ensure a free and fair polls.

In response, Awami League leaders have also been saying that BNP were making empty threats as it intended to boycott the election.

Responding to BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir’s recent allegation that the commission was implementing “the government’s blueprint for a one-sided election,” Obaidul Quader on Wednesday said: “They [BNP] are the ones who are formulating a blueprint in London to foil the polls. We do not have any blueprint. The one plan we have is for a free, fair and impartial election.”

When asked about rebel candidates, the Awami League general secretary also added that if the rebel leaders did not follow the party guideline and pull out of the pollsby December 9, which is the deadline for the withdrawal of candidature, they would be expelled from the party.