The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Awami League Sunday termed baseless apprehension over its president Sheikh Hasina's participation in the December 18 polls saying she will contest in the elections and the party expects victory under her leadership.

"As per the country's constitution, there is no bar for Sheikh Hasina to contest the polls. She will surely contest the polls and lead the party to win," Awami League acting general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam told reporters after party's presidium meeting tonight.

Ashraful said the government has no jurisdiction to prevent Hasina from taking part in the polls.

'It is the jurisdiction of the court or the election commission."

The presidium meeting held at acting president Zillur Rahman's Gulshan house formulated a draft guidelines for practising new electoral rules by grassroots leaders and workers.

He said the draft will be scrutinized by Working Committee members soon before its approval by Working Committee meeting.

"Our main focus will now be on nomination of candidates. The guideline has been formulated so that grassroots supporters can choose the best candidates," he said.

As per provisions of RPO Ordinance 2008 a panel of five candidates will have to be selected by working committee members of the party's local units from ward/union to upazila level in each constituency.

But for this practice, the local working committees will have to arrange party councils, although the emergency rules do not allow such councils, Ashraful said.

"But if necessary, local units will be asked to break the emergency law to uphold the democratic practice of nominating candidates from grassroots," he said.

The units' working committee members will vote for their favorite candidates and central parliamentary body will make the final selection, Ashraful said.

Awami League would start the nomination process just after settlement of the legal battle over the delimitation of the constituencies, he said.

Ashraful reiterated their demand for resolving the delimitation matter by November 1 so that the election commission can declare the parliamentary polls schedule on November 2.

He asked the Election Commission to defer the upazila polls to a logical time. He hoped the government and the EC will not remain rigid on its stand to hold the upazila polls on the declared dates.

Ashraful said upazila polls on the declared dates will create a confronting situation immediately after general election on December 18.

He said the AL presidium meeting has welcomed the government decision to provide special security for Sheikh Hasina on her return from the Untied States.