BNP wants fresh, not midterm polls

Terming the January 5 parliamentary election "unusual and unfair" as people could not exercise their right to vote, BNP yesterday said it demanded a fresh poll, not a midterm one.

"Different quarters are talking about midterm election but BNP does not consider it a snap election," Spokesperson Asaduzzaman Ripon told a briefing at the party's Nayapaltan central office in the capital.

"A government which was elected systematically with people's vote arranges such election either to test its popularity or is forced to do it due to internal pressure, for its failure or a big scandal," he said.

On Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam's comment on Saturday that BNP will cease to exist if it does not contest the next election, he said it must be held under a non-party administration, which BNP has been repeatedly demanding, and that they would join it.

"The government will surely be forced to accept the demand," he said, adding that BNP would return to power with people's support.

"Politics is like a dream and political parties are means to materialise it. BNP is a party of crores of people and it will remain always awake to realise the dreams of its founder, Ziaur Rahman," said Ripon.

BNP did not make any mistake or suffer by boycotting the last polls, he said, adding that Ashraful's remark that the Awami League had never boycotted polls was not true as it had done so in 1988 and on February 15, 1996.