Election was controlled by the government: GM Quader

Jatiya Party (JP) Chairman GM Quader and Rangpur-3 lawmaker today said the January 7 national election was "not right" but "controlled", and no one would trust this government.

"The election was controlled as per the government's wish. No one will trust this government ... the acceptance of the government, that they had earlier, won't last long," he said.

GM Quader was talking to reporters at his residence in Rangpur today.

He claimed, "The government did everything in the elections as they wanted to do. There has been a fair election in some places as per the government's wish. And some places have been free, where they [the government] have done irregularities. In some places, it was previously decided who would win. That means the election was controlled by the government. It's like the other elections that were held before."

He also said, "We thought the government had assured that the election would not be like before. No voting centre would be controlled, the administration would be neutral, but we didn't get that.

"Awami League did not keep its promises," he said. "The election, overall, was not good."

About the credibility and acceptance of the January 7 election locally and internationally, GM Quader said it was not the perfect time to make any comment.

He added that his evaluation was that the election may not get any credibility as the entire election process was under the government's control.

He also alleged that a quarter hatched conspiracy to tarnish the political image of the JP and the government was patronising it.

However, JP will decide later whether it will reject the election result or not.

The JP chairman alleged that the party candidates were receiving threats and intimidation from the night before the January 7 election.