Jatiya Party to participate in elections

Despite expressing fears that the upcoming 13th National Parliament election may be 'rigged', the Jatiya Party (JaPa) led by GM Quader has taken the initial decision to field candidates in all 300 seats.

The party has also started selling nomination forms from Wednesday.

Party Secretary General Shamim Patwary said this at a press conference held after a meeting of top leaders at the Jatiya Party's central office in Kakrail on Wednesday evening.

He said: "We fear that a rigged election may take place. Election engineering, post-vote vote or media vote - no fear can be ruled out."

However, despite these fears, he said, the party has taken the initial decision to participate in the elections. Shamim Patwary said: "We are a vote-oriented party. Our leaders and activists are interested in voting. But if the government and the Election Commission cannot ensure the safety of our leaders and activists, then we will reconsider our decision."

At the same time, he warned that the situation in the country could take a serious turn if the upcoming elections are not fair and acceptable.“If the upcoming vote is not fair, acceptable, credible, and does not reflect the people, then the country could be at risk of civil war in the future," he added.