Dhaka //

Awami League and its allies will be barred from participating in political programs. Mahfuz Alam, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser, said that matters will become clear when the election process begins. He also said that after the dialogue with the political parties, a search committee will be formed very soon to reorganize the Election Commission.

Mahfuz Alam said this in response to questions from journalists at a press conference organized to highlight the issues discussed after the dialogue with the chief adviser. With the aim of advancing the reform process and keeping the overall situation of the country in front, the chief advisor of the interim government sat in discussion with the political parties on Saturday. Muhammad Yunus.

In this dialogue, political parties have urged the government to take effective steps to control commodity prices. A few parties have also demanded that Awami League be banned on the charge of genocide in the July-August movement. Almost all the parties have asked for quick reforms in various fields, including the reorganization of the Election Commission. After the dialogue with the parties, the government has said that a search committee will be formed very soon to reorganize the Election Commission.

At three o’clock yesterday in the State Guest House Yamuna. The discussion started with the public forum led by Kamal Hossain. After that dialogue was held one by one with Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Jatiya Mukti Council, 12-Party Alliance, Jatiyatabadi Sammana Jota, NDM, Labor Party, Left Democratic Unity and Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP). In all, six parties and three alliances participated in the dialogue separately yesterday. The time limit for each team and alliance was 30 minutes.

Before this, on October 5, the chief adviser held a third round of dialogue with five parties and three alliances, including the BNP. Discussions with all parties were not completed due to Puja holidays. A dialogue was held with the rest of the parties and alliances yesterday. Advisor Adilur Rahman Khan and Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor Mahfuz Alam were with the Chief Advisor in this dialogue.

The Awami League and its allies, ousted in the student uprising, have been kept out of this dialogue. Jatiya Party was also not invited to the dialogue this time.

After the dialogue with the political parties, press secretary of the Chief Adviser Shafiqul Alam and Special Assistant Mahfuz Alam held a press conference on behalf of the interim government at the Foreign Service Academy last night.

‘They cheated the people’

According to Bass news, in response to a question about preventing 14 parties including Awami League from participating in the elections, Mahfuz Alam said that those who have participated in the last three elections have cheated the people by being elected illegally. The government’s position on this matter is clear—will create barriers to participation in their political programs. See how the barrier will be implemented. It has legal and administrative aspects. When the election process begins, things will become clear.

In response to another question, Mahfuz said that the government is reviewing the matter of banning Awami League or 14 parties. The decision will be taken in consultation with all political parties and stakeholders. He mentioned that the government alone will not decide on this matter.

Mahfuz Alam, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser, said that a search committee will be formed very soon to reorganize the Election Commission. He said, according to the rules, there should be six members in the search committee. Apart from this, whatever needs to be done according to the rules will be done. He mentioned that as the next activities of the Election Commission reorganization, when and how the elections will be held, from updating the voter list to other work, the Reform Commission will also work in parallel.

Mahfuz Alam said that there was much talk about elections and reforms in the dialogue. Genocide trial proceedings were also discussed. The topic of commodity prices also came up in the dialogue. He said that the political parties have again come to ban Awami League. There has been talk about how to limit the politics of their partner parties, including the Awami League. Three parliaments held illegally—in 2014, 2018 and 2024—have expressed views on how to declare these three parliaments invalid.

According to BASS news, in response to a question about how many people involved in the genocide escaped outside the country, Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said that the government is investigating how the people involved in the genocide escaped.