The Awami League (AL) general secretary Obaidul Quader on Monday said that a joint pre-election assessment mission from the United States wanted to know about the scope for compromise between the ruling Awami League and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
While briefing journalists after holding meeting with the with the six-member delegation from the International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) from 12:30pm to 2:30pm, Obaidul Quader said, “We told the US team that BNP had kept no space for compromise and adjustment. They [BNP] have blocked all the spaces.”
He said that they told the delegation that compromise with BNP is not possible violating the constitution as BNP wanted the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, caretaker government and dissolution of the Election Commission.
Quader, also the road, transport and bridges minister, questioned the US team and wanted to know the reason of the Prime Minister’s resignation. Quader told US team, “Awami League neither lost majority in the parliament nor a huge number of people took to the streets. He further said BNP has given wrong interpretation of the law to the US delegation. And we have explained them about the reality.”
Obaidul Quader said, “The US delegation said nothing about BNP’s demands, but they emphasized on holding next election in Bangladesh free and fair. As the US delegation wanted to know whether there is any threat of violence during election, we have informed them about the firm commitment of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to hold free, fair, neutral and peaceful elections in the country.”
Meanwhile, responding to the reporters query the AL general secretary said it seems that the US delegation is positive about sending observers for monitoring upcoming national polls.
Earlier in the morning, the US pre-election assessment team met with the BNP delegation at BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office in Dhaka.
BNP said that it informed the visiting pre-election observation team that a fair election would not be possible under Sheikh Hasina.
The joint IRI and NDI pre-election assessment mission arrived in Bangladesh on Saturday to follow electoral preparations and conduct an independent and impartial assessment.
The six-member delegation will meet a diverse group of election stakeholders, including government officials, political party leaders, election authorities, civil society, and others, from October 8 to 12.
The delegation is co-chaired by Karl F Inderfurth, a former assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs, and Bonnie Glick, a former deputy USAID administrator.
It also includes Maria Chin Abdullah, former member of the House of Representatives, Malaysia; Jamil Jaffer, former associate counsel to the President of the United States; Manpreet Singh Anand, NDI regional director for Asia-Pacific; and Johanna Kao, IRI senior director, Asia-Pacific Division.
