Dhaka, Dec 29 – Claiming that the country’s 99 percent people want a ‘change’, Jatiya Oikya Front chief Dr Kamal Hossain on Saturday said adding they will vote for the front candidates in Sunday’s election to bring that change.“Ninety-nine percent people are dissatisfied with the government for indulging in corruption and creating a reign of terror. Only 1 percent people might not want the change as they’re very privileged personas,” he said while briefing foreign journalists at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity about the prevailing situation across the country on the eve of the election.
Dr Kamal said, “People have got united against the government for its misrule, corruption and terrorism as they did against the Pakistan occupation forces in 1971.”
He briefly described ‘attacks’ carried out on BNP and Oikya Front candidates and their supporters and arrest by police across the country to keep them away from the election.
The Oikya Front chief claimed that reports were coming from across the country that the government has prepared ballot boxes stuffed with fake ballots to win the election.
Responding to a query, he said Oikya Front will urge the Election Commission to apply different options of the Constitution, including cancellation of the election and holding fresh voting if the results fail to fulfil people’s expectations.
Other Oikya Front leaders, including BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan, Gano Forum executive president Advocate Subrata Chowdhury, Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury and BNP leader Moazzem Hossain, were present on the occasion. BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on the day said the people will change the current situation through their votes in Sunday’s election.
He made the remarks while talking to reporters after a meeting with the returning officer at his office in the afternoon.
In his last message to party leaders and activists, Fakhrul asked them to go to polling stations taking people with them. “You’ve to guard the polling centres and make sure so that no one can rig votes.”
He also alleged that a number of important leaders of the district unit BNP were arrested on Friday night and he informed it to the RO and the Superintendent of Police.
The BNP leader, however, said no one can scare the voters through the arrest. “We hope they’ll go to the polling stations if the atmosphere remains peaceful,” he said.
Relying to a query whether there is any conflict in BNP, he outright rejected it and described it as trickery of the government.
Fakhrul also said they are in the election race and will remain till the last moment. – UNB
