UN calls for 'meaningful talks' in politics

The stakeholders in Bangladesh politics should engage in meaningful dialogues, spokesperson for the UN chief has said.

“We encourage the different areas of the Bangladeshi political sphere to engage in meaningful forms of dialogue in order for the political life in Bangladesh to be as positive as possible,” said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general.

He was speaking at a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday, according to the UN website.

Responding to a query regarding the allegations of vote rigging, intimidation and crackdown on opposition over the December 30 national polls, he said, “It is obvious that the elections were not perfect.”

Asked whether the UN was willing to send any envoy or any special team to Bangladesh to investigate the allegations of polls irregularities, he said, “We have not the right to do investigations like that unless we're mandated for that.”

Hailing Bangladesh's role in hosting Rohingya refugees, Dujarric also said the country was a very important partner for the United Nations in relation to the Rohingya refugees, and the UN was extremely grateful to Bangladesh for its generosity in hosting so many Rohingyas in extremely difficult circumstances.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also spoke at the press conference.

The ruling Awami League-led Grand Alliance secured a landslide victory in the December 30 polls last year by winning 288 seats out of 299. The opposition alliance, Jatiya Oikyafront, won in only eight constituencies.

The Oikyafront has been demanding cancellation of polls results and holding a re-election under a nonpartisan polls-time government.