Post subject: Political news | AL will go to polls: Jalil
Dhaka, Dec 14 (bdnews24.com) – The Awami League Thursday night said it would go to the polls, in the first clear announcement after the Election Commission fixed the voting date.
"We'll take part in the elections. There's no alternative to elections," General Secretary Abdul Jalil said after a meeting of the AL Parliamentary Board.
"Keeping this in mind, we convened a meeting of Awami League Parliamentary Board."
"The meeting discussed election preparations and other important issues," he told reporters at the party's Dhanmondi office.
Jalil asked the 47-day-old caretaker government to "give it back 47 days" lost to street protests against the interim authority headed by President Iajuddin Ahmed.
This is the first clear expression of interest from the Awami League to join the vote although AL President Sheikh Hasina earlier asked her supporters at rallies of the 14-party alliance to prepare for the electoral race slated for late January.
On the latest presidential decision to put troops on standby and not to engage actively in law enforcement, Jalil said Iajuddin's new order reversing an earlier decision hurt the image of the army.
"We said it earlier that the situation was not serious enough for army deployment."
Jalil condemned "the politically motivated verdict" against HM Ershad, who was sentenced to two years in prison in a graft case Thursday. "We offer consolation to him."
