Acceptable person to be elected President: AL

The ruling Awami League on Thursday night decided in principal to elect a revered person as the country’s 20th President who will be acceptable to all.

 “The Awami League Presidium thinks the President will be a person who is acceptable and respectable to all,” AL general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said.

He came up with the remarks while briefing reporters about the AL Presidium members’ meeting, the first after its December 29, 2012 council session, held with AL president and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at her Dhanmondi office.

Ashraf said the nearly three-hour meeting, beginning at 7:10pm, elaborately discussed the country’s latest political situation and its present trend and other issues, including the presidential election and next general elections.

Speaking at the meeting, Sheikh Hasina suggested her party colleagues to propose the name of a competent and acceptable person to elect the successor of President Zillur Rahman who died on March 20, the AL general secretary said.

Ashraf hoped that they would be able to find out an acceptable person to elect him President.

Parliament will elect the country’s 20th President on April 29 as per the schedule declared by the Election Commission.

The post of the President fell vacant following the death of President Zillur Rahman.

The members of the AL Presidium, the party’s highest policymaking body, urged the government to deal with an iron hand those who unleash violence and anarchy during hartal.

The ruling party policymakers also called upon the government to take stern actions against those who killed people during the recent hartals and take effective measures so that no one get killed and no public property damaged.

Replying to a question, Ashraf said the scope that has been created for dialogue to resolve the political crisis has got twisted due to BNP’s negative attitude.

He, however, said his party is always in favour of holding dialogue to resolve political problems.

Referring to the killing of four people by a group of mob called out by the activists of an Islamist group using the loud speaker of a mosque in Fatikchhari of Chittagong to counter a anti-hartal procession, the AL leader urged the authorities concerned to remain alert so that no one could misuse the equipment of mosques and religious institutions.

Four people were killed and 120 others, including 10 policemen, injured in a clash between activists of BCL-Jubo League and Hefajat-e-Islam and villagers at Kazirhat under Bhujpur in Fatikchhari upazila on Thursday.

In Khulna an Islamic Chhatra Shibir leader was killed in police firing on Thursday during the Shibir called hartal taking the total toll of Thursday’s hartal to five in violence.