Forty-seven citizens on Monday in a joint statement protested at the schedule for the 12th parliamentary election, calling the polls one-sided.
Expressing deep concerns, the 47 citizens said in the statement that the government is heading towards holding yet another one-sided election in Bangladesh.
They said that as part of the attempt many cases have been filed against the leaders and activists of the opposition including Bangladesh Nationalist Party, while arbitrary arrests are going on since October 28.
The possibility of dialogue with the opposition parties has been denied, while malicious statements are being spread against the opposition parties through different media, the statement added.
‘Amid such a situation, we think that the Election Commission, by announcing the polls schedule, is playing the role of a support force of the government in organising a unilateral election,’ it said.
‘The situation is highly worrying for Bangladesh. In the past two elections we have seen that one-sided, controversial and fabricated elections destroy social, political and economic accountability,’ continued the statement.
The state institutions become subservient to the government, while extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, murders, corruption, looting and money laundering become rampant, it ran.
‘In this context, we believe that yet another controversial and one-sided election will plunge Bangladesh into a deep crisis. In this situation we urge the government to immediately release the leaders and activists of the opposition parties and discuss with them and other stakeholders to create an election-friendly situation,’ said the statement.
‘At the same time, we call on the opposition parties including BNP to play a positive role in order to keep the door of dialogue open over the elections,’ it urged.
The concerned citizens also warned that if the government will have to bear the responsibility of the consequences if it holds one-sided elections, ignoring the calls for dialogue from different corners inside the country and abroad.
The signatories of the statement included Ali Imam Majumder, a former cabinet secretary, Anu Muhammad, former professor of Jahangirnagar University, Shirin Haque, human rights activist, Asif Nazrul, professor of Dhaka University, writer Rahnuma Ahmed, Nur Khan Liton, human rights activist, writer Mahbub Morshed, poet Shakhawat Tipu and journalist Saydia Gulrukh.
The Election Commission on November 15 announced the election schedule fixing the voting day for January 7 amid protests from the opposition parties, pressing for resignation of the Awami League government and holding the election under a non-party caretaker administration.
