'Govt plotting Jan 5-style election'

The BNP has sent a letter to the United Nations, alleging that the government was hatching a blueprint for an election without Khaleda Zia, a number of BNP leaders said.

The party also sent a copy to Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland.

“We wrote letters to the United Nations and Commonwealth informing them about the present situation of the country. We told them that our chairperson was convicted in a false and fabricated case.

“The intention behind the case was to keep her away from politics and also from the next election. The government wants to hold a one-sided election like the one held on January 5, 2014,” BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told The Daily Star yesterday.

The letters, signed by Fakhrul, were sent yesterday.

The letter to the UN Secretary General António Guterres was sent through UN Residential Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo.

Terming the UN the guardian of the world, the BNP letter said the country was going through a critical time with democracy at stake, according to BNP leaders.

Talk among political parties is essential to resolve the ongoing political crisis, it added.

The party's acting chairman Tarique Rahman gave some directions on the draft before it was finalised.

BNP leaders quoting the letter said the ruling Awami League held the last parliamentary election unilaterally in the name of continuation of the constitution.

They added that BNP and most other political parties did not participate in that election and the AL promised at the time that the next election would be held very soon after consulting all political parties.

Ahead of that election, the then UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon phoned Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia over the matter. Moon sent the then UN assistant secretary-general for political affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco to Dhaka.

Taranco visited Bangladesh from December 6-11 to broker a solution to the political impasse regarding the election-time governance. During his stay, the Awami League and BNP leaders met for the first time in his presence and began a formal dialogue.

Taranco met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, BNP Chief Khaleda Zia, and then chief election commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmadthe, and civil society representatives, among others.

After returning, Taranco submitted the report on his visit to Bangladesh to the then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, emphasising that the UN stay engaged with the stakeholders in Bangladesh.

In yesterday's letter, the BNP wrote that Bangladesh was truly at historical crossroads with democratic forces fighting fascism.

A BNP leader quoting the letter said the AL was aware that the BNP and Begum Khaleda Zia remained to be major obstacles in its push towards establishing one-party rule. This case is but one instance of that strategy.

“We have drawn attention of the United Nations because they are taking a keen interest in the development of Bangladesh and democracy of Bangladesh. For a long time, they have been taking interest in the political situation of Bangladesh, particularly the ensuring elections,” Moudud Ahmed, BNP standing committee member, said, adding that the UN repeatedly said it would like to see participatory election in Bangladesh.

“Since we are a member of the United Nations, the issue should be brought to their notice. That is why we sent letter,” he said.