The Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, on Saturday said her party was ready to contest the December 18 parliamentary polls and the party’s nomination process was in final stages.
   ‘There is no option but holding the elections to fish out the country from the existing political and social crises and I believe the national elections will be held on December 18 and all the political parties will contest the polls,’ Hasina was quoted by the party’s joint general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam, also the spokesman, as saying.
   Ashraful was talking with reporters after the Pakistan high commissioner in Dhaka, Alamgir Mohammad Babar, had made a farewell call on Sheikh Hasina in Sudha Sadan.
   He said issues related to the current political situation and the forthcoming national elections were discussed and the both agreed that the present crisis could be resolved only by holding the polls. He said the whole nation and the Awami League were waiting for
the polls to be held on December 18 and the party was fully prepared to contest the elections.
   Ashraful said the party’s nomination process for all the 300 electoral constituencies was almost ready and they were talking seat distribution with the allies. ‘We will sit with the alliance partners in a couple of days to finalise the matter.’
   In reply to a query about the proposed Hasina-Khaleda talks, he said the party was busy with the election and nomination process. ‘We will look into the matter if it crops up in future.’
   Coming out of the meeting with Hasina, Alamgir Babar told reporters Hasina was hopeful about the forthcoming elections.
   As for general elections, he said the elections were a matter of the Bangladesh government, Election Commission and political parties. In reply to another query, Babar said as the Election Commission had announced the schedule, it would be held in keeping with the schedule. ‘Pakistan will respect the verdict of the people in Bangladesh.’


Source: New Age