Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud said that the ruling Awami League wants all parties to participate in the elections. The government will provide all kinds of support for this. He told reporters after exchanging views with the representatives of the ‘Election Monitoring Forum’ consisting of local and foreign election observers at the official residence on Minto Road in the capital on Sunday afternoon. This information was informed in a press release of the Ministry of Information. Hasan Mahmud told the election observers, ‘We want all political parties including BNP to participate in the election. Let the people vote with enthusiasm and elect the next government fairly and beautifully. If any cooperation is required from the government, we will certainly do it. The information minister said, “Representatives of the Election Monitoring Forum came for a meeting with me. 108 organizations are registered with the Election Commission for election observation. Out of these, the front of 51 organizations is the Election Monitoring Forum. They discussed this with me in detail. They said that the people will elect the next government with the participation of all political parties including BNP in the next election. This forum also monitored the last elections. In the next election also, they will send an election monitoring team to monitor the election. Hasan Mahmud said, “We have informed them that elections will be held in our country in the same way as elections are held under the Election Commission in all parliamentary democracies. In India, Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, and other countries of Continental Europe, the current government will perform the duties of the elected government in our country. The election will be held under the Election Commission. Regarding BNP’s participation in the election, the information minister said, “BNP has got electoral fear.” This is normal. Because, in the 2008 elections, BNP participated in the elections with full strength and got only 29 seats. By boycotting the 2014 elections, they tried to resist democracy itself but failed. In the 2018 elections, BNP got six seats by uniting a big front with all ‘right-left, far-right-Taliban’. Now, when they rally in front of the press club, there are more journalists than people. That’s why the fear of the election has got them. Even so, I hope they participate in the elections. But BNP has started walking now, let’s see how many years they walk.’ Hasan Mahmud further said, ‘Election Commission organized the election. The Election Commission will take initiatives to ensure that all parties participate. In the game, the organizers confirm who will come to play. It is not the responsibility of those who go to play to see whom others play or not. Similarly, we are a party in the field of elections, and BNPO is also a party. We also want them to participate. We don’t want a walkover, we want to play, we want to win by playing and as a party, we call on all political parties including BNP to participate in the next elections.
