'Spineless' EC must rectify its mistakes, says NCP's Nasiruddin

“Day by day, we are seeing most of the EC covered in military uniforms, while the rest are clad in party colours," he says

Nasiruddin Patwary, chief coordinator of the National Citizen Party (NCP), has ripped into the current Election Commission (EC), calling it a "spineless body" draped in "military uniforms and party colours".

He made the remarks after a meeting between an NCP delegation and the chief election commissioner (CEC) at the EC headquarters in Dhaka's Agargaon on Sunday.

Accusing the commission of bias, Nasiruddin said that, while the people of Bangladesh were previously stripped of their voting rights, efforts are now under way to undermine the electoral process.

However, there is still time for the commission to rectify its mistakes, according to him.

“Day by day, we are seeing most of the EC covered in military uniforms, while the rest are clad in party uniforms. We're still giving the EC a chance to correct its mistakes by pointing them out."

“In the past, people were denied their right to vote. Over the last 15 years, the public has not been able to exercise their voting rights. If, in the future, anyone other than a single political party attempts to participate in elections, the EC will become an obstacle. That’s the path we are heading towards.”

Sunday was the deadline for submission of corrected documents by parties that had applied for registration as new political entities with the EC.

As part of that process, an NCP delegation met with the CEC.

NCP Chief Organiser Hasnat Abdullah, Joint Convenor Khaled Saifullah, and Joint Member Secretary Zahirul Islam Musa were also part of the delegation.