Jatiya Oikya Front (JOF) chief Dr Kamal Hossain has appealed to the leaders and supporters of the anti-Government political alliance to stop talking about boycotting the next election in Bangladesh.
Dr Hossain said this during a rally organised by Jatiya Ainjibi Oikya Front in Dhaka on Saturday.
A report published on Saturday by bdnews24.com quoted Dr Kamal Hossain as saying: “We want a free and fair election. Let’s not talk about any election boycott time and again; I implore everyone with my hands folded. We paid a heavy price for boycotting the previous election. We do not want to make any mistake this time.”
The Jatiya Oikya Front chief also called upon the Government to release Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson and former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
Dr Kamal, 81, said it was not proper to confine the main opposition leader behind the bars during the polls while the chief of another main party remains as the head of Government.
JOF chief Dr Kamal called upon the youth to come forward for the sake of a fair election.
He said: “We will go to the polls despite their skulduggery. Get ready. Go from door to door and seek votes. We will vote in thousands.”
The JOF leader alleged that thousands of opposition activists were imprisoned every day ahead of the election.
The report further quoted Dr Kamal as saying: “Democracy will not come back if the government creates discrimination. And there will be no constitutional rule. The country will plunge into a chaos. That’s why, she [Khaleda] needs to be released.”
The JOF chief also hit out at the Government for its decision to introduce e-voting.
“Why will the EVMs be used by spending crores of taka and ignoring all the opinions? The government decides what only five people think they should. That’s the biggest shortcoming,” he added.
