The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain yesterday said his party would not take part in the forthcoming parliamentary elections without Begum Khaleda Zia.

" BNP will not participate in any polls without party chairperson Begum Zia," he told journalist at his NAM flat.

When asked if BNP went to polls under any pressure and without Begum Zia, Delwar said, "we would not only boycott the polls but also resist it".

He also demanded of the government to materialise their seven-point charter of demands that include withdrawal of the state of emergency and deferment of upazila elections.

On the issue of lifting the emergency, the BNP secretary general said they want to see the emergency to be lifted soon.

Asked if the government was lifting the state of emergency in phases he said, "We want emergency to be lifted once and for all not in phases".

Reaffirming their seven-point demand to the government, Delwar said, "BNP will participate in the polls if the government accepts our demands pressed during the dialogue ".

He said that many candidates would be facing various hurdles in electioneering unless the emergency laws were revoked.

It is mentioned that the first-round of government-BNP dialogue was held on October 14, when the party had raised its seven-point demands including dropping all charges against all political leaders and cancellation of the Representation of Peoples Order (RPO).

In the second-round of dialogue held on Thursday, the Commerce and Education Adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman said the issue of Khaleda Zia's presence in the country's politics was ' decided'.