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The Election Commission will announce next week the election schedule for the 50 reserved seats for women in the 11th parliament, EC Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed said today.
“According to the 11th parliamentary election results, 43 seats will be reserved for Awami League while four for the Jatiya Party, one for Jatiya Oikyafront and two for the independent and other candidates,” Helal Uddin Ahmed told reporters at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital’s Agargaon.
Besides, the upazila parishad elections will be held in phases from the first week of March, he added.
The AL-led grand alliance secured 288 seats -- the AL 257, the JP 22 and others 9 -- in the December 30 election. The BNP-led Jatiya Oikyafront got only eight seats.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the people voted her party to power after evaluating the fruit of development borne in her previous terms.
“The countrymen have gained benefit of the development work of my government, and thus they cast their votes for us,” She told foreign observers today.
She was speaking to observers from at least 30 different countries during a view-exchange meeting at her official residence Gono Bhaban this evening.
Hasina, also president of the ruling Awami League, said she fought for holding the election in a transparent manner so that people can exercise their voting rights.
She said BNP-Jamaat led alliance has plunged into a setback in the just concluded election as they have indulged in the acts of terrorism and corruption.
The premier also drew attention of the international observers so that they can play a role form their respective levels to accelerate the repatriation process of the Rohingyas from Bangladesh.
Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda has ruled out any scope of holding fresh election, as demanded by opposition alliance Jatiya Oikyafront.
“There is no scope to hold the national election again,” he said while briefing to media today, a day after the 11th parliamentary election was held.
Rejecting the allegation of ballot stuffing on the night before election, the CEC said: “It is completely untrue.”
Expressing complete satisfaction over the election, he said the voter turnout in the polls was 80 per cent.
Nurul Huda said the election took place with festive atmosphere but there may have some unfortunate incidents during the voting and the commission will investigate the incidents.
HOW WAS THE ELECTION?
Voting for the 11th parliamentary election ended peacefully in Dhaka; but was tainted with violence elsewhere across the country and cost the lives of at least a dozen people.
Reports of casualties came in from Cumilla, Chattogram, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Rangamati, Cox’s Bazar, Bogura, Noakhali, Narsingdi and Gazipur.
Allegations of vote rigging, election clashes, intimidation and irregularities came in from several other constituencies and capital Dhaka city.
Also, the election saw opposition candidates boycotting elections in at least 43 constituencies; 42 of who were Jatiya Oikyafront runners.
WHY 2018 POLLS IS SIGNIFICANT?
It is after 10 years that Bangladesh and its people are witnessing an election that is being held in participation of all the major political parties.
The last one held on January 5, 2014, was highly debated both nationally and internationally as it saw no election to more than half of the seats.
A total of 153 constituencies out of the total 300 saw lawmakers elected uncontested – an election which was boycotted by prime opposition BNP.
Sheikh Hasina remained in rule for two consecutive terms with the parliamentary opposition of Jatiya Party, which took part in the cabinet of Awami League.
BNP leaders elected in the 11th parliamentary polls will not take oath as they have already rejected the results, alleging various irregularities including ballot stuffing and ouster of opposition polling agents from voting centres.
The party rather demands a re-election under a non-partisan interim administration, saying it has been proved that a free and fair election is not possible under a partisan government.
The BNP took the decisions in principle at a meeting of its standing committee at the party chairperson's Gulshan office, a day after the polls saw it win five seats while its ally Gonoforum two.
Replying to a query whether the lawmakers-elect from the BNP will take oath, party's General Secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, “We have rejected the polls results. We will also continue our legal battle and action programmes.”
Fakhrul, who secured Bogura-6 constituency, said this election proved that a credible election is not possible under any partisan government.
“The government using state machinery conducted such a farcical election that I think it is the most stigmatised election in the country ever,” he said at a press conference after the standing committee meeting.
He also alleged that most of the new voters were denied their right to vote on Sunday.
In a press statement, Gonoforum chief Dr Kamal Hossain said all the opposition candidates, including those of Jatiya Oikyafront, will submit memorandum to the Election Commission on Thursday demanding fresh polls.
They will also announce their next course of programme on that day.
“Countrymen witnessed and perceived it well how a farcical drama was staged in the name of election on December 30,” read the statement.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Awami League and its loyal Election Commission have shown the world how to destroy the election system of an independent and sovereign country.”
Dr Kamal said though the polls results show the ruling Awami League is the winner, actually 17 crore people of Bangladesh have lost. “Through it our much expected democracy has been buried.”
'MOST BIASED PERSON'
Terming Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda the most biased person, Fakhrul said, “He [Huda] is a partisan person and his activities were questioned .... his view reflects the government's. He represents the government.”
At a post-election press conference yesterday, CEC Huda ruled out the opposition demand for a fresh election scrapping Sunday's parliamentary polls.
Fakhrul came down heavily on the CEC also for his comment that what can he do if BNP's agents do not come to the polling centres.
“This government using the state machinery barred our polling agents from going to polling centres. In my constituency, there were 100 percent presence of our polling agents but they were driven out.”
He said the party is now collecting all the evidence of vote rigging and then “we will move forward after talking with alliance partners”.
Alleging that “election engineering” was planned days ahead of the polls, he said its implementation began on December 29, the day before the election.
“Many now question why we participated in the election even after arrest of and attacks on the opposition leaders and activists,” Fakhrul said.
Explaining his party's position, he said, “We want to say clearly that we are a democratic political party and believe in transfer of power through peaceful election. We participated in the election to have democracy restored.”
Alleging that ruling party activists launched attacks on the opposition men after the election, Fakhrul said, “After the election, houses of opposition leaders and activists were attacked and set on fire.”
He claimed that since the announcement of election schedule, more than 21,000 opposition leaders and activists were arrested.
In the first parliament 45 years ago, none of the parties was recognised as official opposition due to their poor strength in the House.
The resounding victory of ruling Awami League-led alliance in Sunday's polls has diminished the scope for emergence of an official opposition in the new parliament.
The AL-led alliance together grabbed 288 seats out of 298 with the ruling party alone bagging 259 seats. The BNP-led alliance managed to secure only seven seats. [Election to Gaibandha-3 was rescheduled to January 27 following the death of a candidate and re-polling will take place in three centres in Brahmanbaria-2 on January 9.]
Against this backdrop, Jatiya Party may sit on the opposition bench in the new parliament to be formed with MPs-elect swearing in tomorrow.
The JP, a key component of the AL-led grand electoral alliance, emerged as the second largest party by obtaining 20 seats.
It needs at least five more to get official recognition as the opposition, according to the verbal directive given by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during a debate in the first parliament on April 12, 1973.
In the first parliamentary election held in 1973, the AL won 293 seats. The opposition parties -- Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Bangladesh Jatiya League, National Awami Party and others obtained only seven seats.
They extended their support to Jatiya League leader Ataur Rahman Khan and demanded that he be recognised as the leader of the opposition.
During the debate over recognition as opposition, Bangabandhu said a party could not be recognised as opposition if it did not have at least 25 MPs.
If any group has less than 25 MPs and at least 10 MPs, it can be termed a parliamentary group, not a parliamentary party, said Bangabandhu.
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"The speech delivered by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the only directive," wrote Khandaker Abdul Haq in his book "Parliamentary Practice and Procedure" published by the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat in 2001.
"His directive has been derived from experiences of the Pakistan National Assembly and East Pakistan Provincial Assembly and it is consistent with the parliamentary culture of India and this sub-continent," wrote Haq, who was a senior official at the Parliament Secretariat.
If Bangabandhu's directive is taken into consideration, JP would need five more seats to qualify to become the opposition party in the new parliament. If JP is not the official opposition, none of its MPs could be the leader of the opposition.
The JP became the main opposition in the current parliament formed through the 2014 election, which the BNP-led alliance boycotted. It won 34 seats and its senior leader Raushan Ershad was recognised as the leader of the opposition with a status of a minister. Three JP MPs were also made ministers.
Their dual role has been criticised. The party could not play its due role as the main opposition in parliament in the last five years.
JP Secretary General Mashiur Rahman Ranga yesterday said his party would hold a joint meeting of the party's presidium members and MPs-elect today to decide whether it would join the government or sit on the opposition bench.
"We will also discuss it with the grand alliance," he said at a discussion at the party's Banani office.
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