During a meeting with BNP representatives at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka on Tuesday (21 October) evening, Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus discussed the electoral environment and administrative transfers. A press release from the Press Wing provided details of the meeting’s key points.
The Chief Advisor stated, “Elections are a battlefield; our responsibility is to remain neutral.” He further explained that, as the advisor in charge of the Ministry of Public Administration, all administrative transfers before the elections will be carried out directly under his supervision. In appointing district commissioners, qualified candidates will be selected from multiple “fit lists” to ensure the presence of capable personnel for managing the elections.
During the meeting, BNP leaders requested that officials involved in controversial activities or who had played partisan roles under the Awami League government be removed from election-related duties. They emphasized maintaining complete neutrality in administrative transfers and appointments.
Present at the meeting were BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee members Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and Salahuddin Ahmed, Planning Advisor Wahiduddin Mahmud, Legal Advisor Professor Asif Nazrul, and Industry Advisor Adilur Rahman Khan. Following the meeting, Mirza Fakhrul briefed the press, stating that to ensure credible and impartial election results, the interim government should function in the model of a caretaker government.
Fakhrul added that individuals working in the secretariat for party interests must be removed and replaced with neutral, professional officials; partisan personnel in the judiciary and district administration should also be removed; and recruitment and promotions in the police must be entirely impartial. He further demanded that any partisan elements within the interim government itself be removed to ensure that the government can operate neutrally.
