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Reform Talks

EC finally invites pro-Saifur BNP

Delwar slams decision as ‘part of blueprint'

Staff Correspondent
The Election Commission (EC) yesterday again invited Saifur Rahman-led faction of BNP to an electoral reform dialogue scheduled for next Sunday, as its move to reunite the party had failed.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda, who on Thursday had said the EC had wanted to sit with a united BNP since it had not wanted to deal with factions, however disclosed last evening the commission's decision to invite only one faction of the party to the talk after all.
Before disclosing the EC's decision, CEC Huda put a condition of not asking any question on awaiting journalists, and suggested them to listen to what he had to read out from what seemed to be a written speech.
"We invited Hafizuddin Ahmed to participate in the dialogue on electoral reforms with his delegation at 10:00am on April 27," CEC Huda said adding, the invitation would reach Maj (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed, acting secretary general of Saifur loyalists, within last night.
He said the EC will sit with the delegation of pro-Saifur faction of BNP only once, although it earlier had sat twice with each of 15 political parties since September 12 of last year.
Through yesterday's move, the EC officially recognised pro-Saifur faction of BNP as the mainstream and upheld its November last year's decision of inviting Saifur loyalists to the electoral reform talks, a meeting which could not be held due to legal battles that followed.
Irked by the EC's decision. Khandaker Delwar Hossain-led faction loyal to detained Chairperson Khaleda Zia termed it 'a part of a blueprint'.
"We are not surprised by the EC’s decision. It has been done to legitimise the interim administration's design to hold an election with a BNP manufactured in a government factory,” pro-Khaleda Acting Office Secretary Rizvi Ahmed told The Daily Star yesterday, on behalf of the faction's Secretary General Delwar.
"The EC is working to implement the conspiracy of a certain quarter," Rizvi alleged.
Contacted by The Daily Star last evening, Hafizuddin Ahmed said he will talk on the issue only after receiv-ingtheEC'sletterofinvitation.
Meanwhile, in a development last night, pro-Saifur faction decided to ask the standing committee members to represent the party at the dialogue on electoral reforms on April 27.
It will also request them to sit down and review 'BNP's proposals and responses' to the electoral reforms proposed by the EC.
“We will urge the standing committee mernbersbe they with Delwar or with us--to represent the party at the dialogue,” a pro-Saifur leader told The Daily Star, adding that only the standing committee members can represent a united BNP
Earlier in the day, the EC at a meeting also withdrew its previous order suspending the scheduled November 22 talks with Saifur loyalists, which had come on the heels of a High Court stay order on the effectiveness of the last year's
EC invitation to the faction, in response to Khaleda Zia's writ petition against it.
The High Court on April 10 this year however threw out Khaleda Zia’s writ petition that had challenged the EC's earlier invitation to Hafiz for electoral reform talks
In a bid to avoid controversies in handling the thorny BNP issue, the EC was also considering an option of not talking to any faction of the party.
According to the plan, the commission on Thursday in an effort to reunite the factions, held separate (alks with both and asked them to be reunited within 72 hours for participating in the electoral reform dialogue.
Following the factions' failure to reunite within the stipulated deadline both groups embarked on a manoeuvring race to win the EC's invitation, as the coveted invitation is being considered as the commission's recognition to the mainstream of the party.
Both factions submitted letters to the EC claiming themselves as mainstreams.
With the EC's decision to inrite Saifur-led faction to the dialogue, the race for recognition apparently ended, putting Saifur loyalists in an advantageous position regarding getting registered with the EC as the mainstream of BNP, clearing the way for its right to use BNP's
traditional electoral symbol, a sheaf of paddy, in the next parliamentary poll.
Now, Delwar led pro-Khaleda faction will have to face a number of major hurdles in getting registered with the EC as a parliamentary political party retaining the name BNP if it does not reunite with its rival faction for registration.
According to the EC’s proposed laws for political parties' registration for election, if Delwar-led faction is not recognised as a part of BNP, it will have to take a new name and meet certain other criteria which are about to be made mandatory for political parties seeking to contest in the next parliamentary poll.
Briefing journalists on his way out of the EC Secretariat last evening, the CEC said the commission had originally picked 17 political parties to have electoral reform talks with them. The CEC also gave a rundown of incidents between the EC and the feuding factions of BNP regarding holding of electoral talks with the party.
On November 5 last year, the EC invited Saifur-led faction of BNP to an electoral reform talk scheduled for the 22nd of the month, triggering widespread controversy as Saifur loyalists are reportedly enjoying the blessings of the military backed caretaker government.
The EC however could not hold any electoral reform talk with BNP so far, as the High Court on November 18 last year ordered a stay on the effectiveness of the November 5 inritarion to Hafiz following a writ petition against it filed by Khaleda Zia. which was later thrown out by the court clearing the way for EC's yesterday’s decision.
PRO-SAIFUR MEET
Held at Saifur Rahman's Gulshan residence, last night's meeting was attended among others by Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman. Major (retd) Hafiz, Osman Farruk, and Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf.
According to decisions taken at the meeting, Saifur will contact the committee members in a day or two and ask them to attend the review meeting as well as the dialogue with the EC.
Five members of the standing committee in a letter submitted to the CEC Sunday called for the commission to invite Khandaker Delwar, who too is a standing committee member, as the BNP secretary general.
When asked about the proreform group's decisions, a leader loyal to Khaleda Zia said Delwar is the lawful secretary general of BNP and there is no question respond ing to the 'government-manufactured BNP' leaders’ ca 1.