Jamaat decries lack of political dialogue before February polls announcement

Taher says they expected that the chief advisor would hold talks with political parties before the announcement

The Jamaat-e-Islami has criticised the lack of political dialogue in the lead-up to the announcement of the national election in February, saying the decision has left the nation “stunned and surprised”.

However, the party backed the chief advisor’s decision, calling it “positive”.

The party’s deputy chief Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher shared the reaction at a press conference at the Al-Falah Auditorium near its central office in Dhaka’s Moghbazar on Wednesday.

“Since the post-Uprising period, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has consistently called for the restoration of democratic governance and the formation of a just, corruption-free society based on justice," he said.

“In that context, the party has supported the chief advisor’s announced election timeline (December to June) on certain conditions.”

Taher said they expected that the interim government head would hold discussions with political parties before the announcement.

“As that did not happen, the nation is stunned. Announcing the election timeframe on July Proclamation day while ignoring the long-standing tradition of prior dialogue with political parties is regrettable,” he said.

“Nevertheless, in the interest of the nation, we view the chief advisor’s announcement as a positive step.”

In response to a question, the organisation’s Nayeb-e-Ameer said: “Jamaat sees the February election as a positive move. Our party chief had previously said that the election must be held in February before Ramadan. The chief advisor has declared it accordingly.”

During the briefing, he emphasised that the national election should be held based on the “July Charter”.

He said, “We are observing that the government has yet to ensure the environment necessary for a proper election. Therefore, to hold a free, fair, neutral, and acceptable election per the chief advisor’s announced timeline, the election must be organised on the basis of the National Charter.”

“To this end, the interim government must provide legal legitimacy to the National Consensus Commission, which is currently working to draft the charter,” he added.