Awami League’s Quader backtracks on 'dialogue'

The government will host a meeting of all political parties to exchange greetings, not a dialogue, Awami League’s General Secretary Obaidul Quader has said.

The change in his comment comes a day after he announced that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hold talks with all political parties she spoke to before the recently held general election.

Jatiya Oikya Front, the opposition alliance, after rejecting the outcome of the polls, had asked the government for talks on holding a fresh election.  

On Monday, Quader said there is nothing to discuss about the election held on Dec 30. “Political parties will be invited to exchange greetings,” he said.

Quader’s remarks came a few hours after BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the Oikya Front will need to know the agenda before deciding whether or not to join the government’s dialogue.

"There is no doubt anywhere in the world about the election. The democratic world has sent us congratulations. There is no scope of holding a dialogue on the election," he said after a meeting of the ruling party’s South Dhaka unit at Bangabandhu Avenue.

He was then asked why parties were being invited for a meeting at  the Ganabhaban, the prime minister’s official residence.

“Before the national election, the government held talks with 75 political parties, including the Jatiya Oikya Front. They will all be sent letters for an event to exchange greetings now that the election has ended. This is no dialogue.” 

“We aren’t sending invites for a dialogue,” he said.

The ruling Awami League has formed a third consecutive government after a landslide victory in the Dec 30 polls, winning with its allies 288 seats after voting was held for 299 seats.

The Oikya Front, which won eight seats, has called for a fresh election after accusing the government of vote rigging and other irregularities.