Khaleda Zia’s BNP slams demands of PR, local polls before national elections

DHAKA: Former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Saturday firmly opposed the demands by major Islamist parties and newly-emerged NCP to introduce proportional representation in the electoral system and hold local government polls ahead of national elections.

"Those who are talking about a proportional election system have a motive. Those who want local government elections before the national election also have a motive,” BNP spokesman Salahuddin Ahmed said.

He blasted the proponents of the two ideas, saying “either they want the election to be delayed, or they want no election at all in Bangladesh”, adding that the proportional representation (PR) system is unsuitable for Bangladesh’s political culture.