Don’t want ‘questionable officials’ involved in polls, BNP’s Moyeen tells EC

The last three elections have been a farce and the officials who have served for the past 15 years will not be reformed in 15 months, Moyeen says

The BNP does not want “questionable and controversial officials” in charge of polling duties in the next election, and they have asked the Election Commission to be cautious of the issue, says Abdul Moyeen Khan, a member of the party's National Standing Committee.

He informed reporters of the comments following a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin on Thursday.

After the nearly two-hour meeting between a BNP delegation and the CEC at the Nirbachan Bhaban in Dhaka’s Agargaon, Moyeen said about 1 million workers are involved in organising the national parliamentary elections.

"The Election Commission must be very careful about those officials who are controversial, those who are questionable. This was a key point in our discussion."

The BNP representatives also discussed the voting environment, the law-and-order situation, the trust in the Election Commission and the upcoming referendum in the meeting.

BNP Chairperson’s Advisory Council Member Ismail Zabiullah, and former EC additional secretary Mohammad Zakaria also attended the meeting. The three party leaders are also members of the BNP’s committee on the Election Commission.

Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, the head of the interim government, met with the BNP on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, he also met with the National Citizen Party (NCP) and Jamaat-e-Islami.

In the meeting with the chief advisor, the BNP demanded that the interim government adopt “a caretaker model" ahead of the national elections. Jamaat demanded a referendum be held before the national elections. The NCP told the chief advisor about their lack of confidence in the current Election Commission. In addition, the NCP opposed the formation of a caretaker government before the implementation of the July Charter.

After the meeting, Moyeen said that the past three elections have been a farce and officials who have served for 15 years will not be reformed in 15 months.

That should be borne in mind as the election nears, he said.

“We have come to this meeting today because the Election Commission has a major responsibility to ensure that a fair and impartial election is held in this country,” Moyeen said.

“The most important thing is to hold a fair and impartial election. The most important responsibility for that falls to the Election Commission. The five commissioners cannot do it alone. Huge manpower will be required for this election – at least 1 million people.”