BNP skips dialogue on EC formation, NPP places 5 proposals

National People's Party (NPP), during its dialogue with President M Abdul Hamid, proposed enactment of a time-befitting law and formation of an election-time government led by the incumbent prime minister, comprising all the political parties who believe in the spirit of Liberation War.

But, despite having an invitation from the president, BNP on Wednesday skipped the president's dialogue on the reconstitution of the election commission as per their previous decision.

In the meeting, a seven-member delegation led by NPP Chairman Sheikh Salauddin Salu made a five-point proposal – including formation of a search committee consisting of honest and experienced individuals.

The election commission must be independent and impartial, alongside the formation of an EC with honest and non-party individuals, they added.  

BNP did not join the dialogue on the reconstitution of the election commission hosted by President Abdul Hamid, terming the dialogue "meaningless".  

The party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir repeatedly saying that the ongoing dialogue on the reconstitution of the Election Commission (EC) is pointless.

The BNP leader said, "Under a partisan government, any election commission will not be able to hold a free and fair election independently.  Only under the polls-time neutral and non-partisan government, an impartial election commission can hold a credible national election."

The current dialogue initiated by the president will not bear any fruit because the president himself said he has no power to make any change, he added.

With the BNP, seven political parties have so far boycotted the talks. And 21 parties have so far joined the dialogue.

The president invited three parties to join the dialogue on Thursday. He also invited the ruling Awami League to the dialogue on January 17, the last day of the talks.