Dialogue among political parties needed to resolve crisis: CEC to US Ambassador

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal on Tuesday told US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas that dialogue among political parties is needed to resolve the ongoing crisis in the country.

"We have told them and they also believe that there is real need of dialogue among political parties. I told him that without dialogue, crises cannot be resolved on the streets,” he said.

The CEC said this while talking to reporters after a meeting with US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas at the Election Commission building in Dhaka‍‍`s Agargaon area on Tuesday.

"One thing we have made clear is that a conducive environment is needed for election, which we always say from the Election Commission. The crisis in the country is political. It has nothing to do with my activities,” Awal said.

The CEC said if this problem is politically settled, then it will be more comfortable and easier for EC to hold the election. “We hope that many of the issues that are prevailing in the political arena will be resolved at all costs.”

Kazi Habibul Awal said, “On behalf of this commission, I believe that political parties should sit at one table and have tea together. Then they should talk about these crises to find a solution.”

The Chief Election Commissioner also said that their (US) pre-assessment team will come to Bangladesh in October.

“They heard that the more vibrant political parties here did not get EC registration. Those who have been registered are not vibrant in that way. In response, we said that we have strictly followed the criteria that we have to meet according to our rules to register a political party. That‍‍`s why many parties didn‍‍`t get registration’”Awal added.