Boycott Sunday’s vote, spend time with families at home: Rizvi

BNP has again urged the voters to boycott Sunday‍‍`s voting for the staged 12th parliamentary election  to ensure the fall of the incumbent "fascist Awami League government."

Speaking at a virtual press briefing on Saturday, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi also urged the country’s people to peacefully observe their party’s second-day hartal on the voting day by not going to the polling stations.

 “The darkest chapter of another lopsided stage-managed election in the history of Bangladesh is going to be written tomorrow (Sunday) on January 7. So, our call to every democracy-loving voter is to boycott at least for a day on Sunday those who have denied your rights for the last 15 years,” Rizvi said.

He further said, “Believe me, the grave of this fascist government in Bangladesh will be ensured just because of your one-day decision,”

The BNP leader called upon the  people to spend time with their families during voting hours instead of visiting the polling stations.

“Let’s establish democracy and voting rights and make the two-day all-out strike a success. Let’s all boycott the January 7 voting and raise our voices in favour of boycotting the polls. Avoid going to polling stations,” he said.

The BNP leader also called upon the pro-democratic forces to encourage their family members, relatives, friends and neighbours to boycott the ‍‍`monkey’s play‍‍` in the name of voting and refrain from going to voting centres.

He alleged that a dangerous game has been arranged to retain power again as it has been for the past 15 years through an inventory model of dummy election drama.

The BNP leader said Awami League along with their subservient and partisan state apparatus have laid once again the web of deception to snatch the voting rights of people, ignoring the people of the country and the international community, especially the democratic world.

“Already this farcical election has been rejected worldwide. World media, including BBC, Al Jazeera, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, branded this election as a farce of Sheikh Hasina‍‍`s ascension to dictatorship and monarchy,” he said.

Despite that, Rizvi said Sheikh Hasina has been ‘shamelessly’ indulging in the farcical game using all powers and making efforts to show the democratic world voter turnouts by force as he has become blind out of her lust for power.

Bangladesh is set to hold the 12th parliamentary election on Sunday amid a boycott by major opposition parties.

Meanwhile, BNP and like-minded opposition parties enforced a 48-hour hartal at 6am Saturday to protest the 12th parliamentary election. The hartal will end at 6 am on Monday.

The BNP along with nearly three dozen opposition political parties have been carrying out a simultaneous movement since December 10 last year to force the current government to quit and hold the 12th parliamentary election under a non-party neutral administration.

Many senior leaders, including BNP’s secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, were arrested while many others went into hiding in the face of a crackdown by the law enforcers.

However, BNP and like-minded parties enforced countrywide blockades for 23 days in 12 phases and hartals for five days since October 29 amid incidents of violence like setting fire to public vehicles and passenger trains.