Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JaSad), a partner of the 14-party alliance, has announced that it will not participate in the upcoming referendum and the 13th national parliamentary elections, describing both as “unconstitutional” and “one-sided.”
In a statement issued on Monday morning, the JaSad Central Executive Committee said the party would boycott what it termed an “unconstitutional referendum and one-sided election in the name of the 13th national parliamentary polls.”
“The interim government is clearly not neutral. Instead of holding inclusive and participatory elections, it has organised an unconstitutional referendum and a one-sided parliamentary election,” the statement said, adding that the Election Commission was acting to implement the political will of the government.
The statement, signed by JaSad Office Secretary Sajjad Hossain, noted that although JaSad is an election-oriented party registered with the Election Commission and has participated in most past elections, it has decided not to take part in the upcoming polls due to the prevailing political situation.
Referring to the political changes of August 5, 2024, the party said it had initially called on the interim government, formed under the leadership of Dr Muhammad Yunus, to announce an electoral roadmap and hold inclusive elections at the earliest. However, it alleged that the interim government failed to act as a neutral caretaker administration and instead prolonged its tenure.
The JaSad further alleged that the government had taken partisan positions, engaged in political vendetta, and failed to maintain law and order, allowing mob violence, attacks on cultural institutions, and insecurity across the country.
Claiming that people’s lives, livelihoods and the economy had been severely affected, the party accused the interim government of abandoning neutrality and backing one side of the country’s divided politics while repressing the other through arrests and cases.
“For these reasons, JaSad will not participate in the referendum and the 13th national elections,” the statement added.
