Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Sunday said the government is hopeful that voter turnout in the upcoming election will exceed 55 per cent, citing the 1991 election where turnout stood at the same level.
He made the remarks while addressing the closing ceremony of a journalist training workshop on election reporting organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at a hotel in the capital on February 1.
Touhid Hossain said the government has already informed foreign stakeholders about the steps taken to prevent election-time violence.
Responding to questions, he acknowledged that some voters may choose not to go to the polls, noting that such abstention has occurred in previous elections as well.
“I think more votes will be cast this time,” he said.
Asked about reports that leaders and activists of a party based in India were campaigning against voting, while the government was promoting a ‘yes’ vote, Touhid said there had been campaigns both knowingly and unknowingly opposing the vote.
“The government wants the ‘yes’ vote to win. This is clear,” he said, adding that the issue had gone through more than a year of work by various commissions as part of reform efforts.
He said there was earlier confusion among political parties over the ‘yes’ vote, noting that Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP openly supported it, while the BNP’s position initially appeared unclear due to mixed messages from local leaders.
“However, that confusion has now been resolved, as the BNP chairman spoke strongly in favour of the ‘yes’ vote yesterday,” he said, clarifying that he was expressing a personal view, not speaking in his official capacity.
Touhid said voters would not decide based on detailed conditions but would largely vote along party lines.
“Those who support a party will vote yes, and those who do not will vote no. Since three or four major parties have supported the ‘yes’ vote, it does not appear that there will be any major problem,” he said.
On concerns raised by foreign observers over election violence, he said the government also shares those concerns and is taking steps to address them.
“No one in our country agrees easily to lose an election. Even without party pressure, incidents occur at the individual level. This happens in every election,” he said, adding that the government would try to minimise such incidents and ensure a proper election.
Asked about reports of Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus visiting Japan after the vote, Touhid said the Foreign Ministry was not aware of any such plan so far.
He also said several Bangladeshi ambassadors who had applied for leave during the election period were denied permission, calling it a normal administrative decision during a critical time.
UNDP Resident Representative Stephen Liler, MRDI Executive Director Hasibur Rahman, DCAB President AKM Moinuddin, and General Secretary Abu Hena Imrul Kayes also spoke at the event.