Online Desk: Awami League (AL) General Secretary Obaidul Quader today said since its birth, BNP has been showing mockery to the country’s people over democracy and elections. In a statement, he said the talking of democracy and fair elections does not match the leaders of BNP, a party which destroyed democracy in the country. Quader said military dictator Ziaur Rahman, who seized the state power illegally and unconstitutionally, had formed the BNP.

BNP is a political party which is traditionally and institutionally against the country’s liberation, democracy, constitution and elections, he added. Pointing out that Zia, who captured the state power at gun-point, turned the country’s electoral system into a farce, the AL general secretary said the military dictator introduced curfew-mark democracy for the first time in the country, violating the constitution. Declaring martial law, he said, Zia arranged so-called ‘Yes-No’ vote on May 30, 1977, the presidential election on June 3, 1978 and general elections on February 18, 1979.

Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said at the same time, Zia ensured his victory in all the elections of farce by holding the posts of the president, army chief and chief military law administrator. Even after the killing of Ziaur Rahman, he said, BNP amended the country’s constitution to hold the presidential polls by keeping Vice-President Abdus Sattar in his post aiming to seize the state power. Following his footprints, while Begum Khaleda Zia was in power, loyal Sadek Ali- and Aziz-mark Election Commissions were formed to hold elections of farce, the road transport minister said. By appointing identified cadres of the Chhatra Dal as officers of the Election Commission (EC), the Commission was turned into a party institution, he said.

Quader said today BNP is begging for sympathy of foreigners shedding crocodile tears to influence the electoral system of the country. He said the country’s people have not forgotten yet that in 2006, the research of US-based National Democratic Institute (NDI) revealed the BNP’s fraudulence of creating 1.23 crore fake voters. As BNP was desperate to stay in power, Quader said, the party stigmatised the caretaker government system and staged an election in 2006 under their party-nominated president and it was compelled to cancel the election of farce scheduled for January 22, 2007 due to widespread public protests.

He said BNP has always captured the state power through killing, conspiracy and bloodshed. In disguise of the demand of the so-called caretaker government, the BNP is again hatching conspiracy to seize the state power through murder, plot and terrorism, the AL general secretary claimed. He said the ruling Awami League is a traditionally democratic political party while it never assumed the state power without people’s mandate. Only AL President Sheikh Hasina handed over the power in a constitutional and peaceful manner, Quader said, adding that Bangladesh’s long dictatorship ended, and democracy, voting rights of people and the rule of law were reestablished through the movement-struggle under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina. That is why, he said, the people of Bangladesh conferred her with the title of ‘Daughter of Democracy’. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League are committed to holding free, fair and neutral elections in the country, Quader said.