Awami League advises CEC Huda to speak carefully

Leaders of the ruling Awami League have advised Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda to speak carefully as there is a possibility of misinterpreting his remarks or misquoting him by certain quarters. They put forward the advice on Wednesday during a dialogue with Election Commission officials. A 21-member Awami League delegation, led by the party’s General Secretary Obaidul Quader, attended the dialogue organised as part of the commission’s action plan for the next general election slated for late 2018 or early 2019. An Awami League leader, who was present in the dialogue, said they had suggested the CEC be a bit more careful about what he says as his remarks may be wrongly interpreted by people. “He [CEC] was therefore advised to speak carefully keeping all these matters in mind,” he added. They also suggested taking measures to check the spread of propaganda centring the polls on social media sites. On Sunday, during the commission’s meeting with main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, CEC Huda said its founder Ziaur Rahman "re-established multi-party democracy" in the country. The comment raised eyebrows and drew protests from several including Krishak Sramik Janata League chief Kader Siddique, who walked out of his meeting with the commission. Huda, however, lavished praise on the incumbent Awami League government as well for nine minutes before the start of polls dialogue with the party. He said the Awami League was behind all the success of Bangladesh. “Even the Election Commission enjoyed full freedom during the Awami League period,” he said. The article was first published on Bangla Tribune