Defer unveiling of polls schedule

Jatiya Oikyafront plans to hold a road march towards Rajshahi and two rallies in Khulna and Mymensingh next week to mount pressure on the government to meet its seven-point demand, including election under a non-partisan government.

It also has urged the Election Commission not to announce the polls schedule before the end of the ongoing dialogues between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and different political alliances.

The Oikyafront may announce the programmes at its rally at the capital's Suhrawardy Udyan today, its insiders said last night following a steering committee meeting of the alliance at BNP leader Moudud Ahmed's chamber in Motijheel.

The platform may also come up with an outline for an election-time government “without going beyond the constitution”. Alliance leaders would meet at Gonoforum President Dr Kamal Hossain's residence this morning to finalise the programmes, added the insiders.

Talking to The Daily Star after the meeting last night, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said they would announce their “next course of action” at today's rally, scheduled to start at 3:00pm.

He claimed the programmes would not impact the ongoing talks between the prime minister and the Oikyafront, comprising the BNP and several other parties.

Meanwhile, the BNP would hold its central executive committee tomorrow to discuss grassroots' opinion on the movement and election preparation, said its leader.

Earlier in the day yesterday, BNP Publicity Affairs Secretary Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anee told The Daily Star, “The Dhaka Metropolitan Police has given us permission for the rally on different grounds”.

He added DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia said this when he along with the party's two other leaders met him at the police official's office around 11:30am.

On Friday, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, on behalf of the Oikyafront, announced the rally at a press conference at BNP's Nayapaltan central office.

It will be the third rally of the Oikyafront after similar rallies in Sylhet on October 24 and in Chattogram on October 27.

EC-OIKYAFRONT MEET

The election commissioners and a delegation from the Oikyafront, led by Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal President ASM Abdur Rab, had a meeting at the Nirbachan Bhaban yesterday.

During the meeting, the Oikyafront leaders requested the EC not to unveil the schedule before the talks end. The EC said it would make a decision in its meeting on Thursday. The meeting came after Oikyafront leader Dr Kamal Hossain had written to the commission requesting it not to announce the schedule before the talks end.

The EC has already said it would announce the schedule on Thursday.

Meeting sources said the commissioners and the Oikyafront leaders also exchanged heated arguments yesterday. However, talking to reporters after the meeting, EC Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed denied it.

The sources quoted Nagorik Oikya Convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna as saying at the meeting that they did not go to the commission to express no confidence in it but that it's the people who have no trust in the EC.

In reply, Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda said, “People have no confidence in you”. Manna immediately said, “Mind your language.”

USE OF EVM

When Oikyafront leaders demanded that the EC should not use electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the election, Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury said, “You people are making comments without even looking at the machine. It's impossible to manipulate it. If needed, you can check the machine through technical experts.”

Manna said he was sure that the machines could be manipulated. “I am confirmed and I am giving you the challenge,” the sources quoted him as saying.

However, after the meeting, Abdur Rab said, “The talks were held in a cordial atmosphere.”

He said they requested the commission to postpone the announcement of the schedule to make the polls inclusive and also to ensure security of the polling agents. “It seems that the commission is thinking about deferring the election schedule.”

Asked about EVMs and deployment of army with magistracy power during the election, the JCD chief said the commission would inform them on the issues later.

EC Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed said Oikyafront requested the commission to keep an eye on the outcome of their dialogue with the prime minister on Wednesday and not to announce the election schedule till the talks end.

Regarding army deployment, he said, “We have said this will be decided after the announcement of the election schedule. Oikyafront asked us not to use EVMs but we said it will be used on a limited scale.”

Replying to a query, Helal said, “We are prepared to announce the schedule on November 8 [Thursday] and an EC meeting will take place at 10:00am that day. The meeting outcome might reflect the outcome of the November 7 meeting [between Oikyafront leaders and the PM]”