Elections won't be unacceptable without AL: Badiul Alam

Badiul Alam Majumdar, Secretary of Citizens for Good Governance (SHUJAN), stated that elections would "not be unacceptable" even if the Awami League (AL) does not participate. Speaking at a shadow parliament debate competition organized by Debate for Democracy at the FDC Auditorium in Dhaka, Badiul accused the Awami League of undermining the electoral system with "dummy, one-sided, and midnight" elections.

Badiul, who also leads the Commission for Electoral System Reforms, criticized the current state of the electoral system and called for accountability for those involved in its degradation. He highlighted the involvement of the Election Commission, police, administration, returning officers, and polling officers in criminal activities during the last three parliamentary elections.

He also condemned the Election Commission for its partisanship and for failing to ensure a fair election environment, citing its negligence regarding the planned attack on BNP’s Naya Paltan rally on October 28 as an example.

Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiran, Chairman of Debate for Democracy, presided over the event and echoed Badiul's concerns, recalling past irregularities such as voting taking place at night and the casting of votes in the names of deceased individuals. Kiran also criticized restrictions on journalists and the manipulation of vote counts.

In the debate competition, Dhaka International University emerged victorious over Jagannath University.