BNP leaders won’t take oath: Fakhrul

The BNP leaders who won seats in the parliamentary election will not take oath of office, the party’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam has said.

Paddy sheaf candidates were in an “emergency meeting” with Fakhrul, while oath was being administered to newly-elected MPs of parliament in the morning.

“The oath is over, why should we take oath for an election we have rejected? We are not taking any oath -- I’ll say this with all clarity,” said Fakhrul, responding to reporters, outside the BNP chairperson’s offices in Gulshan on Thursday.      

The BNP had formed the Jatiya Oikya Front, an alliance convened by Gono Forum president Kamal Hossain, to contest the election held on Dec 30. 

The party’s chairperson Khaleda Zia is serving time in prison after being convicted of embezzling funds during her time as prime minister. 

But the BNP, which sat out the previous general election over its unmet demand for poll-time neutral government, was routed a major defeat in Sunday’s polls amid reports of vote rigging and other irregularities. 

Five candidates of the BNP and two candidates from ally Gono Forum were elected, while the ruling Awami League and its close allies bagged 267. The Jatiya Party, an ally of the Awami League, came second with 20 seats. 

But the seven winning candidates of the opposition did not show up to take oath, rejecting calls from ruling party leaders.   

The opposition alliance will instead submit a memorandum to the Election Commission demanding the cancellation of current results and announcement of fresh polls under a neutral body.    

The Oikya Front will also convey reports of several ‘irregularities’ to the commission, said Fakhrul. He also added that each Oikya Front candidate will move the election tribunal with cases alleging vote rigging and irregularities.