Narayanganj polls a proof general election will be fair under Hasina: Tofail

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed has asked the BNP to take Narayanganj City polls as a proof that the next parliamentary elections to be overseen by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be free and fair. 

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 23 Dec 2016, 09:14 PM
Updated : 23 Dec 2016, 09:14 PM

Briefing the media at the Dhaka Reporters Unity on Friday, the member of ruling Awami League's Advisory Council also said the BNP will suffer more damage if it stays away from the general election.

He said the BNP contested in Narayanganj City Corporation election after learning lessons from its mistakes.

"I hope it will also take part in the 2019 national election to be held under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and conducted by the Election Commission without placing any demand," he said.

Awami League candidate Selina Hayat Ivy beat the BNP's Sakhawat Hossain Khan with a margin of around 80,000 votes to become the mayor of Narayanganj for the second straight time on Thursday.

Sakhawat said he was satisfied with the overall voting condition, but alleged there were anomalies in counting the ballots.

The BNP said the election, the first polls on party lines to any city corporation, 'appeared to be free and fair’, but expressed doubts about the results.

The party boycotted the 10th parliamentary election after its demand for it to be held under a non-partisan government to went unheeded.

But the BNP took part in several local government elections, though it terms the outgoing Election Commission 'a subordinate of the government'.

The party recently sent a proposal to the president and later joined the ongoing talks between the president and the political parties on forming the next EC.

He congratulated Ivy on her re-election as Narayanganj mayor.

"The Narayanganj polls have set an example...Ivy is also popular as a person."

Speaking about the recent workers' unrest at readymade garment factories in Ashulia for a rise in minimum wage, the commerce minister said an 'invisible force' was behind it.

"They are creating the owner-worker dispute. They are also responsible for the debacle in the country's businesses after July 1," he said.

Bangladesh's exports had dropped after the July 1 Gulshan cafe attack, which saw 17 foreigners and five others killed by terrorists.