NCP, Jamaat negotiate seat-sharing pact to contest in parliamentary polls

An announcement on the alliance could come in a day or two, an NCP leader says

The National Citizen Party (NCP) is holding talks with the Jamaat-e-Islami to form an alliance for the February elections, according to the parties’ leaders.

A Facebook post by Abdul Kader, a former coordinator of the Students Against Discrimination and one of the leaders of the July Uprising, along with remarks from the parties’ top leaders, left clues to an election-time partnership between the two parties, based on seat sharing.

“They have taken this suicidal decision solely to serve the interests of a handful of leaders, at the cost of the hopes and aspirations of leaders and activists across the country,” the post said.

The announcement of the alliance will mark the beginning of a process in which the NCP will be absorbed into Jamaat, he warned.

The Election Commission (EC) awarded the NCP the election symbol “Shapla Koli”, or water lily bud. The party has announced candidates for more than 100 seats to contest in the parliamentary polls scheduled for Feb 12.

Earlier in the month, the NCP announced the formation of an alliance with the Amar Bangladesh Party and the Bangladesh Rastro Sangskar Andolan. The alliance was named Ganatantrik Sangskar Jote.

Amid the speculations, Jamaat's deputy chief Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher on Thursday night said: “A talk over forming an alliance with the NCP has been ongoing for some time. Let’s see what happens.”

Another student leader Rifat Rashid also mentioned the formation of the election alliance in a Facebook post.

He wrote that an NCP-Jamaat alliance in 30 constituencies would be “suicidal”.

The post added, “What is happening is an electoral alliance. No one will be able to contest the elections outside the alliance’s nominations.”

NCP’s Joint Convenor Sarwar Tusher said, “Discussions are still ongoing; nothing has been finalised yet.”

Another NCP leader, Ariful Islam Adeeb, said that if an alliance were to form, the announcement would come within a day or two.

Feb 12 has also been fixed as the date for the referendum on the implementation of the July Charter.

Under the election schedule announced on Dec 11, nomination papers for parliament may be filed between Dec 12 and 29, will be scrutinised from Dec 30 to Jan 4, and can be withdrawn until Jan 20, with voters going to the polls three weeks later.

Election symbols will be allocated on Jan 21, after withdrawals. This provides 18 days for filing nominations and 20 days for campaigning.