Jamaat Opposes Rushed Polls, Open to February Election

Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher. File Photo: Collected

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has said it has no objection to holding the next national election in February, but it is against a hastily arranged vote lacking proper preparation and consensus.

Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher made the remarks on Saturday while addressing a dialogue titled "National Unity is Essential for National Security" held at a hotel in Gulshan.

"We are being misinterpreted. Saying we don’t want a rushed election doesn’t mean we are against elections altogether," he clarified.

The dialogue was organised by the Foundation for Strategic and Development Studies (FSDS) and attended by political leaders, academics, civil society members, and professionals.

Taher stated that only a genuinely elected government can resolve many national issues, and warned that flawed polls would make justice and reforms meaningless.

He stressed the need for dialogue among all political parties to reach a consensus on holding free and fair elections.

Highlighting policy differences, he noted that Jamaat advocates a proportional representation (PR) system and elections under a non-partisan caretaker government.

"Every party has its own stance. Labelling those as conspiracies against democracy is, in itself, a form of political manipulation," he said.

Notable participants at the dialogue included BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Nagorik Oikya President Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Shujan Secretary Badiul Alam Majumder, poet and intellectual Farhad Mazhar, journalist Shahidul Alam, and Ganosamhati Andolon Chief Coordinator Junaid Saki, among others.