Moyeen Khan criticises interim govt’s stance on election reforms

BNP Senior leader Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan on Tuesday criticised the interim government’s position on holding elections after reforms, calling it illogical.

While inaugurating a workshop in the capital, he also said the main responsibility of the interim government is to restore the people’s right to vote by holding a neutral election after completing necessary electoral reforms.

“The interim government will carry out reforms, and no one is opposing that. However, the problem is that the reforms I implement today may need to be revisited tomorrow,” he said.

The BNP organised the workshop on the party’s 31-point state structure reform outline at the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh.

Dr Moyeen, a BNP Standing Committee member, said reform is a continuous process that never truly concludes. “It is illogical to say that we’ll complete the reforms and then hold elections, handing over the responsibility of governing the country to the people. Reforms are going on, and this argument doesn’t hold.”

The BNP leader said that the government must understand that reforms are a perpetual necessity as civilization itself progresses through continuous change. “So, when will reforms end? There can be no valid argument that elections should only be held after reforms are completed.”

For the past 15 years, he pointed out, the youth who have led revolutions and people from various professions have been deprived of their voting rights. “Restoring people’s voting rights is the prime responsibility of this government.”

Dr Moyeen expressed confidence that a credible election could be ensured by safeguarding the voting rights of the people. “True representatives of the people will form the parliament, which will then establish a government.”

He reiterated that BNP is committed to implementing the 31-point state reform outline if voted to power. “If people vote us into power, we will take on the responsibility of serving the people, not ruling them.”

He also clarified that BNP does not support paper-based reforms but advocates for reforms that will genuinely benefit the people.