Same-day election, referendum move undermines July Uprising: Jamaat leader Shahjahan
“The people of Bangladesh do not want election and referendum on the same day. We do not accept this decision,” he says
The government's decision to hold the national election and the referendum on the same day amounts to disregarding the spirit of the July Uprising, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary Muhammad Shahjahan said today (14 November).
"The people of Bangladesh do not want election and referendum on the same day. We do not accept this decision," he said at a rally, organised to press home party's five-point demand, at the north gate of Anderkilla Shahi Jame Mosque in Chattogram.
"By declaring both major events on the same day, the people of Bangladesh have been thrown into uncertainty. This move diminishes the importance of essential reforms and narrows the path toward building the Bangladesh envisioned through the democratic aspirations of July," Shahjahan added.
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Calling on the government to accept their demands, Shahjahan alleged that a few advisers have misguided the chief adviser, pushing the nation into a new crisis.
Shahjahan reiterated that the referendum must be held before the national election, warning that otherwise, "patriotic citizens will be compelled to take to the streets again to reclaim their rights."
The demands are holding a referendum on the July Charter before the national election, issuing an order to implement the July Charter, adopting proportional representation in the next parliamentary system, ensuring equitable and credible elections, and taking visible action on accountability related to past political repression, killings and corruption.
