No alternative to talks: CEC

Dhaka, July 14 (bdnews24.com) ? The chief election commissioner (CEC) has voiced frustration over BNP's non-response to its invitation to dialogue.

"The two [major] parties should take part in the dialogue since there's no alternative to talks to resolve any problem. They need to meet and talk," A T M Shamsul Huda said on Thursday.

"We're inviting them, but there has been no response so far," he said mentioning that the main opposition had been invited thrice.

He, however, hopes that BNP would join the talks on July 20.

The EC is scheduled to sit for talks with the ruling Awami League and BNP on July 19 and 20 respectively.

His remarks came during talks with Bangladesh Kalyan Party (BKP) when its chairman Maj Gen (retd) Syed Muhammad Ibrahim requested for seeking BNP's opinion with a view to resolving the country's present political instability.

"It's possible to get over the crisis of confidence among the political parties if the Election Commission wants and gets active," Ibrahim said.

In response, the CEC said, "We're trying, but can't do anything more. We hope they'd come up."

Earlier in the morning, the EC exchanged views with Bangladesher Biplobi Workers Party.

The EC sat with the two parties as part of its ongoing dialogue with the 38 registered parties on key issues like the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), demarcation laws and appointment of election commissioners.

The commission opened the dialogue on June 7.

Huda at its meeting with the BKP said all the disputes were resolved through talks during the World War I and World War II.

Referring to the standoff between King Henri and the Pope, the CEC said: "The empire was at a stake and public sufferings were severe. No-one was ready to sit for talks in France and Rome. Later, the dispute was resolved through dialogue in a neutral place, Kennesaw."

Despite being independent, the EC has to perform its work under a complex 'bureaucracy'.

He hoped that the court should help the EC hold a free, fair and neutral election.

EVM FOR LOCAL POLLS FIRST

The BKP chairman said the initiative to use EVM in the elections was praise-worthy, but "adequate public awareness is essential" for its use.

The EVM can be introduced in general elections only after trying it out for acceptability and security in local polls. "We're in favour of its use in the 11th parliament elections," Ibrahim added.

The other party, too, advocated for using EVM in local polls experimentally, citing that the prevailing confusion and mistrust needed to be removed first.

The parties, however, agreed with the other issues.

Commissioners Muhammad Sohul Hussain and M Shakhawat Hossain, EC secretary Mohammad Sadik, Lutful Kabir, director of the Institute of Information and Communication Technology (IICT) of BUET, and Saifur Rahman, managing director of Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory were also present.

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Hartal alternative: Quader formula

Dhaka, June 17 (bdnews24.com)?Awami League presidium member Obaidul Quader says staging peaceful rallies could be an alternative to general strike.

"Please, don't harm people trying to hit Awami League. Hartal is a tool that only inflicts sufferings on the poor," Quader said on Friday, referring to the opposition's shutdowns.

He made the suggestion at a discussion on budget and opposition politics, organised by Bangabandhu Academy at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity.

Quader, a former Awami League junior minister for sports, invited BNP to parliament to join discussions on the much-talked-about caretaker government issue.

"The government won't bow under the pressure of movement, but logical arguments in dialogue can work," he told the discussion.

BNP and the government have been at loggerheads over the caretaker issue since May 31, when prime minister Sheikh Hasina said there was no scope to retain the system as the court abolished it. She rather preferred polls under a fortified Election Commission.

Hasina recently asked the BNP to join parliament and place an 'alternative formula' on the issue.

The opposition maintains that they would not join the next general elections without a caretaker government in place.

Opposition chief Khaleda Zia on Thursday rejected the proposal for discussion.

She said: "She [Hasina] keeps saying over and over something that is not there in the verdict. The verdict says 'the Constitution (13th Amendment) Act. 1996 (Act 1 of 1996) is prospectively declared void and ultra vires the constitution'. Which means the system is not void yet.

"The verdict will be effective only after holding of the next two elections under the caretaker system. This is, in fact, mentioned in the latter part of the verdict," she added.

If the caretaker provision is retained, the former prime minister said, she was willing to join such discussions either 'inside or outside parliament'.

The Supreme Court on May 10 repealed the 13th Amendment to the constitution that introduced the caretaker government. But the court said the next two general elections could be held under unelected governments and gave parliament the liberty to decide on the issue.

Quader said the apex court had repealed the system in the first part of the verdict--the legal part--and in the latter part--political--it asked to consider peace, discipline and security.

To resolve the issue, he said, "The ice of crisis has to be melted first."

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