A four-member delegation of the party, led by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, held a meeting with a high-level delegation from the European Parliament at the European Union Embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday (September 16) at 4 pm.
The Jamaat delegation was accompanied by Nayebe Ameer and former member of parliament Dr. Syed Abdullah Md. Taher, Secretary General and former member of parliament Professor Mia Golam Parwar, and Foreign Affairs Advisor Professor Dr. Mahmudul Hasan.
The European Parliament delegation was led by party president Munir Satouri. The group also included Luxembourg (EPP) Isabelle Vieder-Lima, Poland (ECR) Arkadiusz Mularczyk, Estonia (Renew Europe) Urmas Payet, Netherlands (The Greens) Katarina Vieira, and many others.
In a brief press briefing after the meeting, Nayeb Ameer Dr. Syed Abdullah Md. Taher said that they had “very cordial discussions” with the European Parliament delegation. They discussed various issues including the current situation in Bangladesh, the upcoming February national elections, and ways to make the elections fair and impartial.
He said, “A special opportunity for change has come to Bangladesh after 54 years. Political parties want to seize this opportunity together. We want to see the promises made by the government—reforms, transparency in the judicial system, and free and fair elections—fulfilled. We want ‘free and fair’ elections.”
Dr. Taher said that the National Consensus Committee (NCC) was formed and many important issues were agreed upon. However, there are still differences of opinion on implementation. He said, “We have discussed with 31 parties, out of which 26 parties are in favor of Proportional Representation (PR). Jamaat wants PR in both houses. Our argument is that there has been no fair election in the conventional system in the last 54 years; the three elections in the last 15 years are proof of that.”
He said, “If elections are held under the PR system, the tendency of single candidate capturing seats will decrease. At least once, elections should be held under the PR system on an experimental basis. If it is not good, it can be changed later.”
In response to a question from journalists, he further said that a consensus cannot be reached by extending the term; rather, if one is sincere, it is possible even in a short time. People are also asking whether the strategy of wasting time is being used at present.
Dr. Taher said, “We did not say we will not go to the elections. We are just saying that the PR method is better and that is what we are demanding. We want to go to discussions, the problem can be solved only by sitting at the discussion table. But for this, a liberal and neutral mindset is required.”
