Govt vows to hold free, fair polls: Asif Mahmud

Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain has said that the government is committed to holding a free, fair and influence-free election.

"The current government wants to present a fair, neutral and widely accepted election free from influence. The government is entrusted with the historic responsibility of holding fair polls," he said.

The adviser made the remarks while speaking to journalists at his office at the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives in the Bangladesh Secretariat.

Asif Mahmud said that anyone in the government who is involved in politics should resign before the election period to avoid any perception of interference.

Announcing that he would step down from the election-time government to contest in the upcoming polls, he urged others in similar positions to follow suit.

Clarifying that "election-time government" refers to the administration after the announcement of the election schedule, he said he had yet to decide whether to join the National Citizen Party (NCP) or any other political party, or whether to contest from Dhaka or outside.

On the interim government's performance, Asif Mahmud said the people had secured the success of the mass uprising, but it was "difficult to say" how much success the government itself had achieved.

He, however, pointed out that commodity prices and law and order have been largely under control, saying that the government's successes and failures should be left for the people to judge.

Noting that the government may have fulfilled many of the public's aspirations while some expectations remain unmet, the adviser said that the government tried its level best to fulfil the people's aspirations.