Staff Reporter :
Islami Muktijoddha Projonmo Parishad (IMPP), an associate organisation of Islami Andolon Bangladesh, has said that people are not accepting the statement given by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that the recently held city corporation elections were free and fair.
They have also demanded resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner for his ‘irresponsible’ remarks about their mayoral candidate in Barishal City polls. The group termed the the attack on their mayoral candidate pre-planed and an attempt to murder him.
The demand was raised at a human chain held in front of the Jatiya Press Club in the city on Friday.
From the event, the Parishad leaders have demanded an immediate resignation of the Chief Election Commission for his irresponsible statements. They said no fair election can be held under the incumbent CEC.
Shahidul Islam Kabir, the President of Parishad, stated that the Prime Minister’s claim that the city elections were fair and impartial is not acceptable.
“We have a question for the Prime Minister regarding the attack on Mufti Sayed Muhammad Faizul Karim Sheikh, the mayoral candidate in Barishal. What she will say about it? The attack on our candidate proves that her speech is not acceptable and people are not accepting it,” he said.
He stated that the statements made by the Chief Election Commissioner through the media after the attack on June 12 have been rejected with disdain by people at all levels of society.
“It was appropriate for the Election Commission to withdraw such controversial statements and express regret.
Without expressing regret and taking concrete actions, such remarks have encouraged the attackers,” he said.
Furthermore, he mentioned that the CCTV surveillance in the name of election monitoring is nothing but an attempt to deceive the people and an wastage of public money.
Regarding Mufti Faizul Karim’s written complaint filed directly at the Returning Officer’s office during the Barishal City Corporation election, he said, “No action has been taken by the Election Commission so far, which has silently supported the irregularities in the election.”
“In this situation, the incompetence of the CEC and other commissioners has been proven. Due to their incompetence, the CEC and other commissioners should step down following public demand. If the Chief Election Commissioner and other commissioners truly consider themselves patriots, it is appropriate for them to resign immediately and create an environment for fair elections,” he said.
The human chain was also attended by, among others, Bangladesh NAP Secretary General Golam Mostafa Bhuiyan, central education and cultural affairs secretary of Islami Andolon Bangladesh Maulana ABM Zakaria, Maulana Kazi Manunur Rashid Khan, ABM Raqibul Hasan, Md Abdul Quddus, Abu Shoaib Khan, and Maulana Shah Jamal Uddin.
