BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia today termed the upcoming municipality polls “farcical” and said her party will stay in the race until the last minute.

“The ruling party is hatching evil plans to manipulate the election. Despite this, we have decided to stay in the electoral race until the last moment to resist their plan,” Khaleda said while addressing a press conference at her Gulshan office in Dhaka this afternoon.

With only two days left before the maiden partisan municipality polls, Khaleda reiterated her demand for deploying army to hold the local government polls in a fair and credible manner.

The ruling party wants to uphold its popularity in the country as well as in the world through changing results of the municipality polls, using administration and muscles power, Khaleda said.

The country’s overall situation has aggravated as BNP men and its offices are being attacked all over the country, she added.

“Amid this vulnerable circumstance, we have demanded army deployment for the sake of holding the polls in a fare and credible manner,” she said.     

“I am calling upon the countrymen to go to the polling centers to protect your voting rights and to resist the ruling party’s evil plan,” she said.

She also called upon the countrymen to cast votes in BNP’s electoral symbol sheaf of Paddy to bring back democracy in the country and establish people’s rights.

Khaleda Zia also chief of the 20-party alliance alleged that the BNP supported polling agents and voters are being threatened not to go to the vote centers.

“Terrorists and the ruling party supporters are carrying out adverse activities in electoral areas but the EC is keeping mum,” she said.

The Election Commission has been urged to deploy army for holding the election in a peaceful manner but it denied saying that no situation has yet been created to do so, she said.