Jamaat informs EC of its opposing stance to BNP over referendum, RPO amendment
Jamaat-e-Islami has once again urged the EC to hold a national referendum before the parliamentary elections scheduled for next month.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has informed the Election Commission that it opposes the BNP's demand for a fresh amendment to the Representation of the People Order (RPO) following the interim government's final approval of the amendment in the advisory council.
The party made it clear to the EC that it does not want the Commission to take any new initiative to revise the RPO in response to BNP's demand regarding the issue of coalition symbols.
A seven-member delegation of Jamaat met with the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) today. After the meeting with CEC AMM Nasir Uddin and four election commissioners, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar briefed reporters.
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Jamaat-e-Islami has once again urged the EC to hold a national referendum before the parliamentary elections scheduled for next month.
The Election Commission is making strong preparations to hold the national polls in the first half of February, before Ramadan. The BNP, on the other hand, has been demanding that the national election be held on time and supports the idea of holding the referendum and parliamentary election simultaneously. It has also recently raised objections to a provision in the amended RPO.
The newly amended RPO states that even if parties are in an alliance, each candidate must contest the election using their own party's symbol. The BNP has objected to this, demanding that the previous provision remain, allowing coalition-nominated candidates to contest using another party's symbol.
Jamaat's secretary general said the government approved the RPO amendment following recommendations from the Reform Commission and the Consensus Commission, as well as the Election Commission's consent. Therefore, Jamaat no longer has any objection to it.
However, he added, BNP is now seeking another amendment to the RPO regarding the coalition symbol issue.
Referring to this, Mia Golam Porwar said, "The RPO amendment has already been finalised. We have accepted the amended provision. BNP's new demand, just four months before the polls, is a bad omen for a fair election."
He said, "We told the Election Commission that it is very unfortunate that despite the advisory council's approval, one party (BNP) came here on the 25th and asked to revise the amendment again. We objected strongly to this. They even disclosed information that violates the principle of a level playing field. Their representative who came here on the 25th said in the media that a 'gentlemen's agreement' had been made between one of their leaders and an adviser.
"We told the CEC with surprise – what could be a more 'naked' example of violating a level playing field? Can an adviser, after an advisory council's and commission's decisions are finalised, initiate revision based on a personal agreement with a political leader? These matters concern many political parties, the nation, and the fairness of the electoral process."
He added that the Election Commission listened to their concerns, and Jamaat firmly objected to any further amendments. "The election must be held under the amended RPO and its existing provisions; there can be no further revisions," he said.
Mia Golam Porwar also said a national referendum must be held before the parliamentary election, preferably within November, so that the public can learn about the proposed structural changes in the national charter before voting.
He added that holding the referendum and the parliamentary election on the same day could create technical and security complications, so Jamaat proposed that the referendum be held separately.
