Desk Report,
Level playing field for elections not yet confirmed: Jamaat Nayeb-e-Amir
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Naib-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher has commented that equal opportunities and a level playing field have not yet been ensured for all.
Level playing field for elections not yet confirmed: Jamaat Nayeb-e-Amir
In response to a question regarding the election, Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said that Jamaat-e-Islami is ready to participate in the election. However, they expressed concern that equal opportunities and a level playing field for all have not yet been ensured. He said that if the election is held, the first agenda in their party’s manifesto will be to build a corruption-free Bangladesh. Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said that Jamaat-e-Islami will take the verdict given by the people through a neutral, free and acceptable election as a head start.
Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher told reporters during a break in the 20th day of talks between the National Consensus Commission and political parties and alliances at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital today, Monday.
The Nayeb-e-Amir of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has alleged that political parties have appointed people like themselves to the Public Service Commissions (PSCs) in the past. He said, ‘We want a transparent, merit-based and non-partisan Public Service Commission (PSC) so that no “dictator ghost” can rule the country’s administration.’
Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said that in the past, many talented young politicians have been deprived of jobs or lost their jobs due to their identity, which has affected the state the most. He said, ‘There is no compromise on PSC in our neighboring countries. Opportunities have to be given to the deserving. Because, to strengthen the state, we need to ensure the evaluation of merit in the administration.’
‘In the current system, appointments in the administration are often determined by a “slip in the drawer,”’ the Jamaat leader said, ‘We want the PSC to be a constitutionally protected, independent institution—where there will be no interference from any minister, prime minister, or party.’
The main topic of today’s discussion was the reform of several statutory institutions—especially the PSC, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Accountant General, and the Ombudsman—and to protect them in the constitution.
Taher said that most political parties agree in favor of protecting these issues in the constitution. However, some parties, including the BNP, have argued in favor of protecting them through law. Because amending the constitution is difficult. He said, ‘If done through law, any government can change the law in the morning or afternoon by getting a majority. So it should be kept in the constitution, so that there is stability and there is no scope for party benefits.’
Regarding the BNP walkout at the dialogue, the Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb Amir said, ‘I thank them that they did not boycott the entire event, but participated later.’ He also said, ‘We do not see it this way, whether it is the opposition party or the government; rather, we see which proposal is most suitable for the country.’
