Right to vote shouldn’t be robbed in 2024: AB Party held gathering of ‘Deprived Voters’

Amar Bangladesh Party, AB Party, held a gathering of ‘Deprived Voters’ on Sunday afternoon at Bijoy 71 square in support of ongoing anti-government movement.

Prof. Dr. Abdul Wahab Minar, a Joint Convenor of AB Party, said that I’ve witnessed rigged election under current ruling party in 1996. As a patriotic retired military officer, we cannot allow this to happen in 2024 as happened in 2014 and 2018. King’s party cannot serve the regime’s purpose this time round.

Mojibur Rahman Monju, Member Secretary of the party, said, depriving the nation of right to vote is a gross violation of our civic and political rights. We have struggled for decades to secure universal right to vote in a free, fair, participatory and credible election. Farcical election can only lead to kingdom of unlawful detention, mass arrest on trumped up cases, enforced disappearances, false convictions as it’s going on now. For a Queen and kingdom, election is not necessary, nor spending hundreds of millions of taxpayers money.

Asaduzzaman Fuaad, a barrister-at-law and Joint Member Secretary of AB Party, said that our demand for right to vote is not for 120 million voters only but for ruling party leaders too including Pesidents, PM and Election Commissioners who couldn’t vote in last 15 years. Likewise our campaign is to secure right to vote for the bureaucrats, of both civil and military administration. Pseudo candidates from fake political parties would not attract any voters to polling stations.

Nasreen Sultana Mily, a barrister-at-law and in- charge of AB Party Women, said, 52% voters are women and they could not vote in 2014 and 2018. Our five million ready-made garment workers are also female; they were killed and tortured while demanding for living wage and improved working conditions, both ignored and denied by this authoritarian government.