Jamaat says no objection to February polls, demands PR system in both houses

The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has no objection to holding the election in the first half of February but insists on conducting the polls through the proposed proportional representation (PR) system in both the upper and lower houses of parliament, Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher said today (10 August). 

"We have reached consensus on one point — elections through the PR system in the upper house. But our demand is that the PR system be applied in both the upper and lower houses. We will launch a movement on this issue and try to realise it," he said after a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin at the Election Commission office in Agargaon. 

Taher said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the constituency boundaries of Cumilla-11.

Asked whether Jamaat would participate in the election if the PR system is not applied in the lower house, he said, "We have already said we will participate in the election. At the same time, we will continue discussions on our conditions and hope to achieve our goals."

He also said, "We definitely want elections, but we attach great importance to conditions that will ensure fair polls. Therefore, the recommendations of the consensus commission should be given a legal basis, and the upcoming election should be held accordingly."

Regarding whether Jamaat will sign the July Charter, the Jamaat leader said, "If the agreed points are given legal backing and the election is arranged accordingly, we will definitely sign. But signing a meaningless paper has no value for us."