The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Saturday in a response to the Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland’s press statement said that her call has shocked the democracy loving people of Bangladesh who have remained disenfranchised by the regime for over more than a decade now.
On Friday, Patricia Scotland called on all political and civic leaders in Bangladesh to contribute to a conducive environment for citizens to peacefully exercise their right to vote.
The BNP said that the call misses out many crucial issues surrounding the coming farcical election and does not reflect the ground reality in Bangladesh.
‘We believe her statement contradicts the desires and aspirations of the pro-democracy Bangladeshis who have been striving for a free, fair, inclusive and credible election for more than a decade’, its statement said.
The BNP also asked Scotland to be aware of the fact that the January 7 election is facing a boycott by all the major pro-democracy political parties in Bangladesh including the BNP itself.
‘Only the ruling party chosen dummy/independent candidates and fake oppositions with ruling party blessings are made to participate in the election. Since the election result is already pre-determined and the people have no real options to choose from among genuine contenders, there is no congenial environment and level playing field, the voters have also rejected the one-sided polls,’ BNP said.
BNP’s senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, who has signed the statement, said that the regime has now taken various unethical measures to demonstrate the presence of people, voters or no voters, at the polling centres under coercion and intimidation, to make it look like participatory.
‘She must also be aware of the state of terror and fear created by the regime through extreme human rights violations like extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and rampant arbitrary arrests in last three months,’ read the statement.
The BNP said that scores of people have been tortured and died in police custody and more than 27 thousand, including BNP secretary general and its top leaders, languishing in the prison on fictitious charges.
According to the statement, the ruling autocratic regime of Bangladesh is conducting a sham election, forcing all the pro-democracy political parties out of the election, creating a culture of fear, and designing a staged election by dummy candidates, dummy election observers, and dummy voters.
Patricia Scotland’s statement tends to support renewal of the current autocratic regime through a highly fraudulent election that goes against the aspirations of the people of Bangladesh for restoration of democracy through a genuine inclusive and credible election, the BNP statement said.
The BNP also stated that they will highly appreciate her support to the people of Bangladesh who strive hard for restoration of their voting rights and fundamental liberties.
