The National Citizen Party on Tuesday warned the Election Commission that it would take to the streets to protect the right to a free and impartial election, alleging that the administration was showing a clear bias towards the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

NCP spokesperson Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyan made the warning while speaking to reporters after a meeting with chief election commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin at the EC headquarters at Agargaon in Dhaka.

‘Recently, a party’s acting chairman has returned to the country and we welcomed  his return. But after his arrival, various government officials have fixed their ‘qibla’ towards his party office, which has raised concerns about administrative impartiality in the upcoming elections,’ Asif said.  

Asif said that they had seen the NSI chief go to a party office to meet the head of a political party.

He said that while intelligence chiefs might meet leaders of any political party for security-related matters, going to a party office for such a meeting, in their view, was an ominous sign.

Asif expressed concerns over the risk of a one-sided election.

He said that people had doubts about a free and fair election on February 12, and even about whether it would be held, but it is the responsibility of the government and the Election Commission to dispel the doubts.

He pointed at Sylhet, where the nomination of NCP candidate for Sylhet-1, Etesham Haque, was cancelled after he sought time to submit documents relating to his dual citizenship, while a BNP candidate in Sylhet-3 facing a similar issue was allowed to have a valid nomination on the condition that the required papers would be submitted later.

Asif said that the contrasting decisions exposed a pattern of partiality.

Indicating the BNP, the NCP spokesperson alleged that candidates from major political parties had been allowed to contest despite serious irregularities in their affidavits.

He also raised concerns about the conduct of the administration, noting that while officials have historically tended to lean towards a major party, the current situation was particularly alarming.

Warning of the possibility of a repeat of past controversial elections, Asif said that there was widespread public apprehension that the polls could again be marred by administrative bias, one-sided conduct, ballot stuffing, and night-time voting, or be concluded through behind-the-scene settlements.

He cautioned that any sign of partiality or weakness towards major parties during the appeal hearings would further erode public confidence in the Election Commission.

The NCP spokesperson strongly opposed the participation of the Jatiya Party in the upcoming elections, accusing it of being ‘fascism collaborators,’ politically legitimising the past regime, and taking part in settlements that deprived people of their voting rights.

Asif described the law and order ahead of the upcoming election as disappointing.

He raised concerns over the free movement of identified criminals, saying that police stations were aware of who possessed illegal weapons and ran drug cartels, yet little action had been taken.

He urged the commission to ensure a greater field-level deployment and more active operations against criminals to restore public confidence in the EC ability to a free and fair election.

Islami Andolan Bangladesh, too, met with the CEC and raised concerns over administrative bias towards a major political party and irregularities in the nomination scrutiny process.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, IAB joint secretary general Ataur Rahman said that many of their candidates’ nomination papers had been rejected over trivial or clerical errors that were previously considered correctable.

He alleged that similar minor issues were overlooked for candidates of other parties, calling this discriminatory and a form of harassment that damaged candidates’ reputations.

Ataur also questioned the fairness of the electoral environment, claiming certain parties received political prioritisation and VVIP treatment, with the administration appeared to be biased.

He expressed concern over incomplete recovery of looted weapons, saying that the pace of recovery ahead of the election remained slow.