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The ruling party has heard the demands of its partners from the 14-Party Alliance
Published : 05 Dec 2023, 10:03 PM
The Awami League will sit with the key ally, the Jatiya Party, on Wednesday to discuss the shares of parliamentary seats they will contest for in the Jan 7 vote amid the opposition BNP’s boycott.
The ruling party heard the demands of its partners from the 14-Party Alliance on Monday and Tuesday, but kept them waiting for final decisions.
After the 14-Party meeting on Tuesday, the coalition’s coordinator and Awami League leader Amir Hossain Amu said everyone will have to wait for the final decisions until Dec 17, the deadline for nomination withdrawal.
He said the discussions on which seats the Awami League will leave to its partners may start taking shape after the meeting with the Jatiya Party. “There may be some conflicts between the Jatiya Party, the Awami League and the 14-Party Alliance.”
Amu is confident that they will sort things out. “We contested elections and organised movements together in the past. We’re still saying that we will take part in the election together again.”
He said he would convey the demands of the 14-Party allies to Awami League chief Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday. “We may reach a decision after discussions.”
The senior Awami League leader said the party’s alliance with the 14-Party partners is not just strategical, but ideological. “It doesn’t just depend on sharing seats.”
Since 2008, the 14 parties and Awami League have formed alliances for elections. The Jatiya Party was also a coalition partner in two of the three national elections.
The Jatiya Party was excluded from the coalition in 2014 after the alliance led by the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami boycotted the 10th parliamentary elections. As the BNP plans to boycott the polls again, the Jatiya Party is not part of the current ruling party-led alliance.
The Awami League has hinted at making compromises for the Jatiya Party in some constituencies, but there has not been any final words yet.
This time, the Awami League has announced candidates for 298 of the 300 seats and informed the Election Commission of its plan to contest the elections with its alliance. At the same time, the coalition partners have also nominated candidates separately.
