Claiming that people unilaterally turned down Sunday’s voting, Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Monday demanded the cancellation of the 12th parliamentary election and the resignation of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

At a press conference at the party chairperson’s Gulshan office, the party also renewed its demand for a fresh election under a non-party polls-time government to establish a legitimate and accountable government.

To mobilise public support for their demands, the BNP also announced a two-day mass contact programme on Tuesday and Wednesday.

‘The country’s people unilaterally and spontaneously rejected yesterday’s (Sunday’s) election. On behalf of 63 parties, who called for boycotting the polls, we congratulate the people of the country for turning down the election,’ said BNP standing committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan.

He also said that the government failed to take voters to the polling stations despite various threats and intimidation.

‘There was no voting and election on January 7. What happened was vote robbery and vote rigging,’ the BNP leader said.

Another BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan said their party wanted to establish a government elected by people’s vote and accountable to them.

‘A free and fair election is necessary for it what didn’t happen yesterday (Sunday). So, people have turned down this election. Everyone is saying the voter turnout which was shown (by the EC) was fake,’ he said.

‘So, BNP and other political parties who have on a movement for the restoration of democracy demand the immediate cancellation of the dummy election of January 7, resignation of Sheikh Hasina and formation of a polls-time non-party neutral government for holding a national election,’ Nazrul said.

He also said people’s ownership of the state must be restored and all enforced disappearance, killing, and ghost cases must be stopped and people will have to be protected from his repressive regime.

‘These are now people’s demands. We congratulate and thank people as they made sacrifices in the face of various pressures and allurement and foiled the government’s evil efforts to show a huge turnout by taking them to the voting centres.