The ruling and the opposition parties today initiated much-sought-after dialogue, brokered by the United Nations, where they decided to work together to decrease tension.
In what so far appeared to be an elusive but much-sought-after meeting, the secretaries of the ruling and the main opposition party sat for a dialogue brokered by the United Nations at a house in Baridhara, according to sources.
Thought to be a key catalyst to breaking the prevailing political deadlock, the meeting continued till around 4:30pm, our correspondents reported from outside the house reported quoting highly-placed sources in the BNP and Awami League.
According to sources, the meeting was planned last night in a last ditch effort, mediated by visiting UN Assistant Secretary-General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, to bring all the political parties to the 10th parliamentary election to ensure its acceptability and fairness.
The UN top official has already extended his stay, deferring his meeting with the PM for tomorrow and postponing his press briefing — both of which were scheduled this afternoon — to hold further discussion, UN officials told The Daily Star.
Nearly one and half hours after the start of the meeting, two cars, one of which Taranco used during his current stay, left the house after 3:00pm. But it could not be known whether the UN official had left or not.
The leadership of both AL and BNP have empowered the two to negotiate ways to hold an all-party parliamentary election.
Awami League general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam and BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir went to the house sometime after noon, the sources added.
According to sources close to those engaged in the negotiation process, the ruling Awami League has softened it position on curtailing the power of the prime minister who will continue to lead the election-time government.
It was a demand of a civil society group that met the president on November 26.
The main opposition BNP, which has so far been pressing to see someone else at the helm of the polls-time government, is now pushing ahead with the demand of “an influence-free acceptable election”, sources told The Daily Star.
The UN move comes as the country sees a violent phase of demonstration due to rigid stance by both the ruling and the opposition political blocs regarding the holding of the next parliamentary election. While the AL-led government proceeds with steps to hold the polls being in the power, the opposition demands a non-party caretaker government to oversee the polls.
With the election less than a month away, scheduled for January 5, Jatiya Party, a key ally of the ruling Awami League until recently, announced of boycotting the polls saying that it would not be acceptable if all parties do not join.
All six JP ministers and an adviser to the PM offered to resign to the party chairperson, HM Ershad, and their letters were sent to the premier by post.
Ershad, on December 4, also instructed his party’s aspirant lawmakers to withdraw their nomination for the 10th parliamentary election.
Analysts believe the polls will hardly be credible with main opposition BNP and its allies in keep off the polls and JP’s recent decision to break away from the polls-time government.
The JP, meantime, demanded that the Election Commission to announce fresh schedule for the next general election so that all political parties participate in the polls.
Visiting UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernández Taranco met the PM and sought to know from Hasina if there was any scope for deferring the polls date. To this, Hasina said the Election Commission could decide on that.
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন