Dialogue: BNP invited to Bangabhaban on Jan 12

PBC News:  President Abdul Hamid on Wednesday invited BNP for dialogue with him at Bangabhaban on January 12 over formation of the next Election Commission.

However, BNP has already decided not to join the dialogue.

Apart from inviting the BNP at Bangabhaban at 4:00pm on January 12, the President also invited National People’s Party (NPP) to hold dialogue on the same date, according to the Facebook page of Bangabhaban Press Wing.

BNP standing committee, however, in a meeting on December 27 last year decided not to join the dialogue with President, saying that the talks will not yield any positive outcome.

The party may send a letter to him detailing why it will not join the talks and the overall political situation in the country.

BNP will also ask Hamid to take initiatives to form an election-time interim government to oversee the next general election, said party sources.

So far, five political parties–BNP, Liberal Democratic Party, CPB, Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) and Islami Andolon Bangladesh–have rejected the dialogue with the President.

Earlier on Tuesday, Hamid invited nine more political parties to the dialogue.

The President has so far invited 27 political parties, according to the Bangabhaban Press Wing.

Tenure of KM Nurul Huda-led Election Commission will expire on February 14.

The president will have to form the new EC before the tenure of the incumbent Election Commission ends, according to the constitution.

BNP receives invitation of dialogue

BNP has received the President’s invitation to join dialogue at Bangabhaban, said the party’s senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

He said the invitation was received at the BNP central office at Nayapaltan at 2:30pm on Wednesday.

Like the two previous dialogues, the President has taken an initiative to form a new EC through a search committee this time. Though BNP attended two previous dialogues, it has decided not to join this time.

BNP said the dialogue for formation of a new EC is ‘meaningless’ keeping the demand of an election-time non-party government unresolved.