The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The Election Commission is expected to begin today the second round of its dialogue on electoral reforms with political parties without the BNP.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Dr ATM Shamsul Huda has said the talks with the BNP would be held as per directive of the High Court.

He said they would neither call off the dialogue nor finalise the reforms without discussing with the BNP, which ruled the country before the first Caretaker Government led by President Prof Dr Iajuddin Ahmed took over in October last year.

Sources in the Election Commission said the Commission would submit a draft of the amendment to Representation of the People Order 1973, a draft Code of Conducts of the political parties and candidates during the elections, the reform proposals and the outcome of the previous round of talks for discussions during the dialogue.

The Election Commission (EC) has invited a 10-member delegation from each of the 15 listed political parties and would sit separately with each of the parties. The second phase of the dialogue would conclude on February 28.

The dialogue this time would be held in reverse order of the schedule of the EC's first round of talks. The Commission would finalise the reforms agenda after the second round of the dialogue.

As per the schedule of the second round of talks, the Election Commission (EC) will sit with the Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh (BDB) at 10:00am today, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) at 12:00 noon and Samyabadi Dal of Bangladesh (ML) at 2:30pm.

BNP reformist group headed by Saifur-Hafizuddin had been invited for the first round of the dialogue prompting the detained party Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia to challenge validity of the EC's invitation letter in the High Court through a writ petition. Both the EC and the BNP factions are awaiting a decision from the Court to settle the issue.

Admitting that the dialogue would remain incomplete without talks with the BNP, CEC Dr ATM Shamsul Huda said they would not sit with a faction of a political party.

"We only sit with the mainstream of a political party not with its faction," said the CEC, whose Commission had separate dialogues with two factions of the Jatiya Party-one led by former President HM Ershad and the other led by Anwar Hossain Manju and the both factions of the JSD (one led by Hasanul Haq Inu and other by ASM Abdur Rob-during the first phase of the dialogue.

The EC has also invited both the factions of the Jatiya Party (JP) and two factions of the JSD to the second phase of the dialogue that begins today.

Rest of the dialogue schedule are-the Workers Party of Bangladesh, Communist party of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Awami League on February 25, Jatiya Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) and National Awami Party (Mozaffar) February 26, Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Rab) and Jatiya Party (JP) February 27 and Ganotantrik Party, Krishak Sramik Janata League and Islamic Oikya Jote (IOJ) on February 28.