Most of the political parties, except Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and National Citizen Party (NCP), are in favour of holding the next general election before the local government polls.
On Friday in a party conference in Mymensingh, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman demanded to hold local government polls before the national election to demonstrate the Election Commission's sincerity and capacity to hold general election.
Most of the political parties including BNP, Nagorik Oikya and Ganosamhati Andolon and other likeminded political parties differ with the statement of Jamaat-e-Islami and said; people of the country had been fought for 17 years to bring back democracy by exercising their right to vote. But NCP proposed different kinds of election like Constituent Assembly elections and Local Government Election before holding general election.
People of the country were unable to freely exercise their voting rights in the 2014, 2018, and 2023 national elections due to widespread election manipulation in many ways. Even many voters over the age of 30 are yet been able to exercise their right to vote in the nation elections.
A voter name Urmi Safia Khan told to The Daily Observer, "Now I am a lawyer, I became a voter before 2014 but I have not been able to vote yet. As news of various types of violence spread before the elections, no one in our family went to the polling station to vote."
"Moreover, after 2014, such a mentality was created that there is no point in voting because the candidate has already been elected," she added.
Urmi said she will go the polling station in the upcoming general election to exercise her voting right for the first time.
BNP Standing Committee Member Nazrul Islam Khan told to the Daily Observer that people of the country had been waiting for last 17 years to elect their representatives of the parliament. Considering the sentiment of the people we want general election first.
"Other political parties can have their different demands. We have nothing to comment about that," said Nazrul Islam.
Even former Chief Election Commission (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal was questioned about the credibility of the 2014 and 2018 general elections. In a programme, he admitted that the EC was facing a credibility problem for the controversial 2014 and 2018 general elections.
"We praise the CEC for admitting that the last two elections were indeed controversial," said said Nazrul Islam.
"I have not found any logic to hold local government election before General Election as the whole nation fought and thousands died for a free, fair and credible general election," Nagorik Oikya President Mahmudur Rahman Manna told the reporter at a programme in the capital recently.
Talking to The Daily Observer, CPB General Secretary Ruhin Hossain Prince said, "After a big change in the country following the July-August mass uprising, every election is important. If we spend too much time on other elections and ignore the national one, bad people could take advantage. Considering the aspiration of the people, we believe it's important to hold national elections soon."
Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolon told to the Daily Observer, "We are in the process of reformation of our country, in this situation General Election in indispensible and get first priority for the country."
