Bangladesh: NCP says elections impossible without implementation of July Charter

Dhaka, Oct 30 (IANS) As political tensions escalate in Bangladesh ahead of next year’s elections, the National Citizen Party (NCP) asserted that polls cannot be held in the country without the implementation of the July Charter, local media reported.

NCP convener Nahid Islam made these remarks while addressing journalists after a party program in Rangpur district.

“We want quick elections. But for those elections, stability and trust are needed. The people's expectation was to establish an effective and accountable government after the mass uprising. Now it is our responsibility to fulfill that expectation,” Bangladesh’s Bengali daily ‘Jugantor’ quoted the NCP leader as saying

Nahid further said, “We believe that if elections are held without taking into account the minimum aspirations of the people, reforms and justice, then those elections will not be sustainable."

He also stated that after August 5, a new politics of "corruption, extortion and occupation" has started, and the country is witnessing the rise of “social fascism”.

“For durable and stable change, we want to implement minimum reforms, including some constitutional amendments. If obstacles arise or the government delays the process, both the government and the obstructing forces will have to face the people,” Nahid stressed.

Meanwhile, amid growing political rift over the July Charter, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) accused the country’s National Consensus Commission of “deceiving” the people and political parties with its final recommendations on the July Charter, calling for its immediate correction by incorporating the notes of dissent.

On the other hand, the radical Islamist Party Jamaat–e–Islami demanded that the referendum on constitutional reforms outlined in the July charter be held before the polls, even if it required postponing the election.

These developments followed the submission of the NCC’s recommendations to Chief Advisor of the interim government Muhammad Yunus on ways to implement the July Charter.

Bangladesh continues to face growing uncertainty and political turmoil ahead of next year's election.

The parties that earlier collaborated with Yunus to overthrow the democratically-elected government of the Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina, are now at loggerheads over reform proposals.

--IANS

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