BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said the recent statement of Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki about “ballot box stuffing at night” during Bangladesh’s last general election was “absolutely true”.
He was addressing a press meet at the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office on Thursday.
The government, Fakhrul said, is now talking about the Vienna Convention that bars envoys from commenting on any country’s domestic affairs.
“Where does it (Vienna Convention) stand when you (government) kill people, make them disappear, hold the day’s voting at night and declare yourself the government without voting?” — Fakhrul asked.
Replying to a question, Fakhrul said the international community has opened its eyes to see what is happening in Bangladesh.
“Bangladesh is not an isolated island… In this day and age, no one can do anything whimsically without facing any question,” he said.
Earlier on Monday, the Japanese ambassador said he had heard about the example of “ballot box stuffing” and that “some policemen stuffed the ballot boxes the previous night” — something he did not hear of in any other country.
Stating that “ballot box stuffing” should never be repeated, the envoy said Japan expects that the next national election in Bangladesh will be held in a “free and fair” manner with participation of all major political parties.
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