Chief advisor’s election statements lack clarity, says BNP's Mirza Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said that he found Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus's statements on a possible timeline for the next elections to be “vague”.

“We have been repeatedly asking for two things -- a clear roadmap and swift elections. Otherwise, we will not be able to overcome the crises we have been facing,” he said.

Fakhrul made the remarks on Wednesday after paying respects at the grave of BNP founder and former president Ziaur Rahman on Independence Day.

In an address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day, Yunus reiterated that the next general election would be held between December this year and June next year.

In response, Fakhrul said: “This is an extremely vague statement. There’s a six-month gap between December and June. This does not amount to a roadmap.”

Mirza Fakhrul added that the BNP was not demanding elections for the sake of coming to power, but rather “for the sake of the nation, to protect the nation, its independence and sovereignty, and for an elected parliament and government”.

“We hope that the interim government will quickly complete the minimum reforms required for the elections and announce the elections soon,” he said.

Reflecting on this expectation, Mirza Fakhrul expressed his “disappointment” with the chief advisor’s statement.

He said, “I am very disappointed that the chief advisor did not mention the election roadmap in his statement yesterday.”

“We were also disappointed to see that he didn't even mention the martyred president Ziaur Rahman, who was a Bir Uttam, a valiant freedom fighter. His declaration of Bangladesh’s independence will remain etched in history.”

He continued, “We don’t want our history to be distorted like it was under the Awami League regime.”

The best course of action for now would be the formation of a democratic government, which is what the people desire, according to the BNP leader.

Mirza Fakhrul also extended Independence Day greetings to the nation on behalf of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman.

Earlier, a group of BNP leaders and activists paid their respects at the National Martyrs’ Memorial in Savar, led by BNP Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas.