The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has indicated it will vote ‘yes’ if a referendum is held on upcoming elections and constitutional reforms, said Nazrul Islam Khan, a member of the party’s standing committee and chairman of its election management committee.
“We have first of all asked for reforms, and it is the BNP's decision to vote ‘yes’ in the referendum,” Nazrul Islam Khan said after a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin at the Election Building in Agargaon on Tuesday afternoon.
Nazrul emphasized that the BNP has consistently supported qualitative reforms of the state and has proposed increasing the number of seats reserved for women in the National Parliament.
During the meeting, the BNP delegation also raised concerns about the cancellation of candidatures. Nazrul noted that the constitution allows individuals who renounce dual citizenship to participate in elections, but in many instances, returning officers have been rejecting candidacies of BNP and other party candidates. “We have asked the Election Commission to address this issue so it does not escalate further,” he said.
The BNP delegation was led by Nazrul Islam Khan and included Ismail Zabiullah, a member of the BNP Chairperson’s Advisory Council; former Acting Secretary of the Election Commission Mohammad Zakaria; and party leader Ruhul Quddus Kajal. Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, other Election Commissioners, and the EC Secretary were also present at the meeting, which began at 4:00 pm.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
