Mia Golam Porwar, Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami, has called for holding the referendum before the national election.
He made the call on Sunday (30 November) at an eight-party divisional rally at the Madrasa Ground in Rajshahi.
Porwar said that if the national election and the referendum are held on the same day, it may create confusion among voters and make it difficult to conduct the election properly.
He alleged that the gazette fixing the same date for both the election and the referendum was issued on the advice of certain individuals within the interim government.
He further stated that the government’s gazette was not a divine command and could be amended if necessary. He added that the referendum should be held first and the national election afterwards. He also described the failure to publish the details of the constitutional reforms under the July Charter as a violation of the people’s right to know.
Porwar claimed that a level playing field had not yet been ensured in the administration ahead of the election. Referring to allegations of attacks on rallies of the eight-party alliance, including Jamaat-e-Islami, in different parts of the country, he said that a neutral election was not possible under such circumstances.
He added that the recent daylight murder in the court area highlighted the fragile state of law and order. In a country where killings occur in front of a court, there is no guarantee that vote rigging or attacks would not take place on election day.
Calling on the public to vote ‘yes’ in the referendum, Porwar said that such a mandate would pave the way for change by addressing corruption, terrorism and the suppression of dissenting voices.
A goodwill message from Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman was read out at the rally.
SS