By IANS
Dhaka : The Bangladesh Election Commission has cancelled dialogue with Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), after its jailed chief and former prime minister Khaleda Zia challenged the legality of the invitation being sent to the dissident group.
The talks, scheduled for Thursday as part of a dialogue with political parties on electoral reforms, would have to await verdict from the court that ordered a four-day stay on EC’s decision to invite the BNP faction led by former minister M. Saifur Rahman.
“The dialogue will not be held on schedule. We will have to wait for the issue to be disposed of at the court,” Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) A.T.M. Shamsul Huda told media.
On Nov 5, the commission sent the invitation to Major (Retd) Hafiz-uddin Ahmed, dismissing pro-Khaleda faction’s claim that they represent the mainstream BNP and so Khandaker Delwar Hossain, the secretary general appointed by Zia, should be invited for the dialogue.
Explaining the rationale for its decision, the EC said it had followed the “doctrine of necessity” in inviting the Saifur-Hafiz group to the electoral talks.
The EC’s decision that came against the backdrop of a protracted wrangling between the two factions caused Zia to file a writ petition challenging the decision.
Asked if the EC would move against the HC order staying the Nov 22 dialogue for four weeks, the CEC said they have yet to think about it, The Daily Star said Tuesday.
“We will decide on our next course of action in consultation with the attorney general. Besides, we will have to respond to the rule issued by the high court,” the CEC added.
“We will reply to the court’s ruling,” New Age newspaper quoted him as saying.
The talks with the political parties on electoral reforms began on Sep 12 and were supposed to be completed by November.
The EC chief said the roadmap to the next election would not be hampered since it has time till March to complete the work on electoral reforms.
Zia had been BNP’s undisputed leader since she took charge in 1981 after the assassination of her husband, President Ziaur Rahman.
Her supporters have alleged that the present interim government has encouraged dissidents in the name of enforcing “political reforms”. The government has denied this.
She herself forced the issue by expelling Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, a dissident and appointing Delwar Hossain, minutes before being sent to jail on graft charges Sep 3.