The visiting UN emissary Oscar Fernandez-Taranco has sought to know from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina whether the polls date could be deferred.
Published : 07 Dec 2013, 07:46 PM
Prime Minister’s International Affairs Advisor Gowher Rizvi told journalists, after the meeting on Saturday, that Hasina told the emissary that it was for the Election Commission to decide.
The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs had a one-to-one meeting with the Prime Minister that lasted more than 90 minutes.
Fernandez-Taranco arrived in Dhaka on Friday evening to, what UN said, encourage dialogue between the two major conflicting parties –ruling Awami League and main opposition BNP – over the upcoming elections.
The BNP demanded a non-party poll-time government, but the ruling party installed an 'all-party' interim cabinet in which the Opposition did not join.
The elections are scheduled to be held on Jan 5. But the BNP has boycotted it.
HM Ershad’s Jatiya party, whose candidates have filed nominations papers, too decided to stay away from national elections.
Earlier in the day, Fernandez-Taranco held a meeting with a seven-member strong delegation of senior Awami League leaders, which was led by party General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam, at the Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon.
The ruling party delegation included Advisory Council members Tofail Ahmed, Amir Hossain Amu and Gowher Rizvi, Joint General Secretary Mahbub-Ul-Alam Hanif, International Affairs Secretary Faruk Khan and former diplomat Shahed Reza.
Before meeting the Awami League leaders, the UN emissary had a 30-minute meeting with the US ambassador in Dhaka Dan Mozena at the hotel.
Fernandez-Taranco began his official tour on Saturday by visiting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the morning where he met the Foreign Affairs Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali and Secretary Md Shahidul Haque.
None of them spoke to media. But ministry officials said, the envoy stressed on “inclusive, credible and peaceful” elections during the meeting.
Fernandez-Taranco had come to Dhaka in his first visit seven months earlier. He had then pitched for an immediate dialogue among political parties to find a solution to the crisis and insisted home-grown solutions.
His second visit to “encourage dialogue” comes at a time when Bangladesh is witnessing an eruption of violence, particularly bomb and arson attacks during the programmes of the agitating Opposition.
During his earlier visit in May this year, the UN official handed Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's letters to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia.
Since then political tension escalated with the approaching of elections.
Over 50 people died in violence during the Opposition backed blockade in the last two weeks. A similar 72-hour blockade has started from Saturday 6am.
Earlier, Ban Ki-moon also personally spoken to the two top leaders but a solution remained elusive.
Ban recently wrote again to Hasina and Khaleda and expressed hope that two warring leaders would move towards ‘all-party’ general elections in January.