BNP senior leader Nazrul Islam Khan on Wednesday described the demand by some political parties for introducing a proportional representation (PR) election system in the next national election as ‘unrealistic and suspicious’.
“When such insistence is placed on this matter (PR), it creates doubts that this could be an unreasonable attempt, leading to serious negative consequences for holding the election,” he said.
The BNP leader made the remarks while responding to a reporter’s question at a press conference at the party’s Nayapaltan central office.
Nazrul, a BNP Standing Committee member, said those who are demanding PR are not clearly explaining what kind of system they want for the election.
He questioned whether anyone had ever asked the people of the country about the PR system.
“Just go to Keraniganj near Dhaka and tell someone there that we want to change the way you have been electing your representatives. Say that we want a new system where your vote will be for a party, not a person. The party will then choose the MPs. There won’t be any specific MP for your area,” Nazrul said, pointing at the parties demanding the PR system.
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He said the political parties should also tell people that they will not vote for any particular candidate in their area. “Have you told people in villages these things? Have you asked if they agree or not on the matter?”
The BNP leader said some political parties were forcefully trying to impose the PR system on the voters despite its weak basis.
Since ordinary people haven’t been involved in it or made aware of it, he said the political parties will not be able to create much trouble over the PR issue.
Nazrul also questioned how the PR system could be introduced by discarding the traditional voting system without amending the constitution in parliament.
“Even if you agree on introducing PR, you still can’t apply it in the coming election, because the constitution would need to be amended first. Only parliament has the authority to do that. So, if you want to introduce it at all, it would only be possible in the following election,” the BNP leader said.
Nazrul said any political party or leader could have their own ideas, which might even be very good or groundbreaking, and there was no doubt about that.
“But the question is, whether the idea is good or bad, whether it comes from a wise person or an ordinary one—unless it is accepted by the people, it cannot and should not be applied for the people,” he observed.
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In Bangladesh, the BNP leader pointed out, debates have continued for years over whether people should cast their votes by stamping a ballot paper or by pressing a button on an EVM machine, yet no final decision has been reached on the matter.
“But now you want to change the entire election system. People have always voted for individuals to represent them. But in the PR system, you will no longer vote for a specific person. No one will represent a particular area. The party will decide who becomes an MP—not the people,” he said.
In the PR system, the BNP leader said, MPs will not belong to a specific constituency as they will be MPs of the whole country.
“So if someone has a problem, who will they go to? That won’t be clear. This is such a major change, but you are not properly explaining it to the people, the real owners of the country,” he said.