PM-Chollet, Ld
Next national polls will be free and fair: PM Hasina tells US official
Eds: Updates with details
Dhaka, Feb 15 (UNB) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the next parliamentary election will be fair and free as she is committed to democracy and the Election Commission is completely independent.
“The next election will be fair and free. I fought for democracy throughout my life,” she said.
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The premier said this when a US delegation, led by Counselor of the US Department of State Derek Chollet, paid a courtesy call on her at the latter’s official residence Ganabhaban.
PM’s Speechwriter Md Nazrul Islam briefed reporters after the meeting.
Hasina said if the people vote for Awami League in the next general election, her party will take the charge of governing the country.
“I never want to come to power through vote-rigging,” she was quoted as saying.
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The PM said she always struggled for the people’s rights to food and vote.
She said the first-ever EC’s reconstitution law was passed in parliament and then a neutral Election Commission was constituted on the basis of the law.
She said the EC is completely independent. It has administrative and financial independence, she added.
Bangladesh is due to elect its next parliament by end of this year or first week of January next year.
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The last parliamentary election was held on December 30, 2018.
The prime minister said no political parties in the country other than Awami League have bases at the grassroots level. Opposition BNP and Jatiya Party were born in the cantonments, she noted.
She said AL has been in power only for 19 years in the 51-year history of the country’s independence. The anti-Awami League forces were in power for 29 years and there was no democratic polity during their regimes.
Focusing on the development of Bangladesh in different socio-economic indexes, she said the transformation of the country has become visible in the last 14 years during her government. It has been possible due to the continued democratic practice and stability in the country, she added.
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Nazrul said the Russia-Ukraine war and Rohingya issues also came up for the discussion in the meeting.
PM Hasina tells the US delegation that the world should stop this war right now as it has caused high inflation and commodity prices throughout the globe.
“A war never can bring any benefit for the human kind,” she said.
Noting that the USA is the most powerful country, she said it can stop the war anytime. The disputes can be settled through negotiation, she said.
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About Rohingyas, the PM said the displaced Myanmar nationals have become a big burden for Bangladesh. The local communities in Cox’s Bazar are suffering and they have become minority due to the influx of such a huge number of Myanmar nationals there.
She said the Rohingya peoples are being involved in different criminal activities like drug trafficking, human trafficking, militancy and infightings.
The premier said the displaced Myanmar nationals have been staying in Cox’s Bazar for five years and now it is difficult to keep them there as its natural environment and the livelihood of locals are at stake.
She said her government arranged different facilities, including income generating programmes, to ensure better life of the Rohingya people on Bhashanchar island.
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She asked the world community to provide their assistance to Rohingya people on Bhashanchar.
Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar and Bhasanchar, she said
PM Hasina also asked the international community to try their best for speedy and amicable repatriation of the Rohingya refugees. to Myanmar, their homeland.
Derek Chollet thanked the prime minister for giving shelter to the Rohingya people on humanitarian ground.
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He said they would try their best for the repatriation of the displaced people.
However, the Counselor to the Secretary of State of the United States said the repatriation will be possible when a democratic government returns to power in Myanmar.
He said some recent high-level visits of US officials are reflection of the importance of the bilateral relations between the two countries. This relation will grow further, Chollet added.
He said there are potentials to deepen the bilateral relations, but there are some challenges here.
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Chollet arrived here on Tuesday for a 24-hour stay in Bangladesh.
PM’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, PM’s Principal Secretary M Tofazzel Hossain Miah, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas were present.