Jamaat Declares Movement for PR Voting System in Both Upper and Lower Houses
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has announced plans to launch a movement demanding the adoption of a proportional representation (PR) voting system in both the upper and lower houses of the National Parliament.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday afternoon after a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin, Jamaat’s Naib-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said, “We have agreed on adopting the PR system for the upper house. However, our demand is that it must be implemented in both houses. We will campaign on this issue because, in the last 54 years, we have never seen fair elections under the existing system.”
The PR system is a proportional electoral process where parliamentary seats are allocated to parties in proportion to the total number of votes they receive nationwide.
Mr. Taher expressed hope that the next general election will be held in February, saying, “Jamaat-e-Islami has always been in favor of elections. We have no fundamental objection to the date announced for February, as we have earlier said elections could take place in either February or April.”
Citing the last three national elections, the Jamaat leader added, “The way these elections were conducted failed to dispel public doubts about the process. That’s why we have urged the government to take multiple initiatives to ensure fairness.”
