The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The central leaders of Awami League (AL) yesterday categorically said the party would not accept any deferment of the long a waited parliamentary election scheduled for December 18.

AL Acting General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said this while talking to reporters after Awami League Central Working Committee (ALCWC) meeting at the party's

Dhanmondi office."No deviation from the December 18 polls will be accepted. If so, AL, along with the people, will resist it by all means," Ashraful told this.

The ALCWC meeting, presided over by Sheikh Hasina, again urged the caretaker government to defer the date for upazila polls.

"Upazila elections are non-political whereas the parliamentary polls completely political. Then, if two such different types of massive polls take place at a time, it can foil each other," Ashraful Islam said.

He said the ALCWC thinks that the upazila poll schedule should be declared after the general election.

Ashraful Islam urged all political parties to participate in the polls if "all parties get a congenial atmosphere before the polls."

He asked the government to fully lift the state of emergency immediately, saying that if the emergency law prevails, many parties may use it as an excuse to boycott the polls.

"If any party does not participate in the polls showing excuse of the emergency law, there will be nothing to do. So the government must remove the emergency law immediately," he said.

When asked what AL will do if the emergency law is kept in force during the parliamentary polls, Ashraful said they would take the decision as per demand of the time.

AL in its working-committee meeting took several decisions, including reforming the party's parliamentary board and the election-conducting committee.

In the meeting, Ashraful Islam was named as the member of the Parliamentary Board while other members who were selected through a party council will remain as usual.

The Election Conducting Committee led by Sheikh Hasina includes HT Imam as its co-chairman and Ashraful Islam member-secretary.

"Besides, all the members of the working committee will be the members of the Election Conducting Committee. But the inclusion of Advisory Council members in the election committee will be made later on," he said.