BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said there is no reason for the national election to be held after December. There are no reforms that cannot be implemented within a month.
He made the remarks after a meeting with Professor Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor to the interim government, on Monday.
The meeting was held this afternoon at the Bangladesh Foreign Service Academy auditorium to mark the start of the second phase of the National Consensus Commission's discussions with political parties on reforms.
After the meeting, BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed said, "We think it is possible to hold national elections by December. We identify all the reforms that need to be implemented urgently, especially those related to elections, and implement them through consensus. There are no reforms that cannot be implemented within a month."
He believes that, except for the constitutional amendment, all other amendments that everyone agrees on in the reform proposal can be implemented within a month through executive orders.
He further said, "There is no single reason to mention that the election should be held after December. We have been able to explain this and have once again proposed that approach. Today, in the statements of most political parties, we saw that everyone has a proposal for the election before December. The Chief Advisor will consider it. I hope that he will play that role impartially as a symbol of national unity."
Regarding the consensus on reforms, Salahuddin Ahmed said, "In the second phase of talks, it seems that they will discuss with all parties to agree on some nationally important issues. Maybe we will not be able to agree on everything nationally, this is the beauty of democracy. But we will discuss. We will be able to agree somewhere, we will be able to come close to agreeing somewhere, this is how a national consensus will be created."
Among the BNP leaders present at the meeting with the chief advisor were Ismail Zabiullah, advisor to the party's chairperson, and lawyer Ruhul Quddus. In addition, Jamaat-e-Islami Naib-e-Amir Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad; Mass Solidarity Movement Chief Coordinator Jonayed Saki; National Citizens Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam, Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain and Joint Convener Sarwar Tushar, and leaders of various political parties participated.
Thirty political parties were invited to today's meeting.
