Govt rejects major parties demand for JS polls in October

Not possible because voter list is yet to be completed: Adviser Zillur

The government has rejected outsight the demand of two major parties Awami League and BNP for holding the parliamentary elections in the month of October.
"It is not possible to hold national polls within the month of October as the final voters' list is yet to be completed," said Commerce Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman at a press conference after the dialogue between the government and Bangladesh Kallyan Party (BKP) held at Chief Adviser office on Wednesday.

Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed led the government side while BKP Chairman Major General (Retd) Syed Mohammad Ibrahim led his party delegation.

"Except finalising the voters' list, all works relating to holding local-body and national elections have already been completed. At present, it is impossible to publish countrywide final voters list in the month of October. We will have to work more for finalising the voters' list. As per road map, the local-body polls will be held before general election," Zillur Rahman told newsmen.
He said now the caretaker government is thinking of bringing reform in the administration.
"On the basis of national consensus, we are trying to bring reform in the administration. If changes are not brought about in the administration, no initiative will bring good result," he said adding there is no alternative to decentralizing the administration to strengthen the local government.
"Considering the dense population at the country, the government is now thinking of bringing changes in the administration. Because, the country's administrative structure was formed when the population was 7.3 crore but the population stands at around 15 crore. So it is very difficult to manage these people with the same old administration," Zillur said.

To make the dialogue more meaningful, government will hold talks with the small group of people on July 27 at the hilly district of Khagrachari.

Talking to newsmen Major General Ibrahim said if the government fails to hold election as per roadmap, the country will fall into another critical situation.

"The government will not be able to face the critical situation. We are calling upon the government not to create any situation where army and common people will be placed face to face," Ibrahim said adding the government is loosing its image as it has totally failed to achieve people's trust. He asked the government to identify the war criminals before all elections.