The Election Commission has urged for political consensus among the major political parties for holding a free, fair and peaceful election instead of holding movement on the streets.
“We have urged the political parties to reach a consensus for holding a free, fair and credible election sans holding movement on the streets,” Election Commissioner Md Anisur Rahman said while talking to reporters at the Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital on Wednesday.
However, he said that the commission would deploy members of the law enforcement agencies after 15 days of the general polls to ensure country’s security if needed.
Claiming the election environment is still favorable, the election commissioner said, “We are not seeing any obstacles. The only major obstacle is the political situation. EC will take action considering the situation.”
“If the political environment is not stable, the election atmosphere is also not good. We cannot say anything about the political situation before the polls. But we hope everything will be positive,” he said, adding that if the political parties reach consensus (on holding a fair election), the situation of election will be different.
Regarding the election environment and the gathering of the two major parties on streets, Anisur said, “All of us prefer consensus among the political parties. We hope that there will be a political settlement which is good for the nation.”
Regarding the security issue of the voters, he said, “I cannot say now what the situation will be then. No one wants to live in fear of political unrest. The parties should think about the security of the voters. We hope the political unrest will be resolved.”
“We want them (major parties) to go into a settlement process, considering the country’s present situation. We want to see progress not crisis. We have a responsibility to create a good environment for voting while the political parties are equally responsible for creating such environment,” he added.
Urging all the registered parties to participate in the polls, he also urged all to cooperate with the concerned police officers to ensure peaceful electoral environment during the polls.
