Staff Correspondent:

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has remarked that the people still do not understand the referendum.

He said, “The people of the country do not understand proportional representation (PR). We are not familiar with PR. People cannot grasp the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ of the referendum. Even by the final day, they will not understand.”

He made the comment on Saturday at a discussion meeting with caretakers of mosque-based public education programmes organised by the Islamic Foundation in Kakrail.

Mirza Fakhrul said, “We want to seize the opportunity for change in the country to establish a lasting democratic system. If BNP comes to power, all issues of the Islamic Foundation will be resolved.”

He added, “The chief adviser has said that the election will be held in February. Prior to that, a reform commission was set up. Many prominent scholars, including some from abroad, took part. They deliberated for nine months and suggested numerous reforms. But in the end, we could not fully understand their recommendations. Most people in the country cannot comprehend them. How many understand PR?”

He further explained, “The people of Bangladesh understand the principle of ‘one man, one vote’. One individual stands, one symbol appears on the ballot and I cast my vote for that symbol. This is how it has always been. Now they want to change it and hold a referendum for that. In a referendum, it would traditionally be a simple yes or no. But now, apparently, there will be four questions on a single ballot. People still cannot understand this and likely never will, even by the final day.”

The BNP leader also commented on the political climate, saying, “A certain political party has been vocally demanding PR, threatening that without it, elections will not happen. There has been much noise and bluffing. But now their tone has softened, and we see all sorts of drum-beating around this election. These things are not right. People should be informed accurately.”

He added, “Although there was a time when we were allied with Jamaat, for the past ten years we have not been. They have shown no visible opposition to fascism. It is said that they were present at Dhaka University posing as Chhatra League members.”