Awami League will win Jan 7 polls

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader yesterday said the result of the January 7 national election will determine who the opposition in parliament will be.

During a press conference at AL’s Dhaka district office in Dhanmondi, a reporter, mentioning that the ruling party was set to win a fourth straight term, asked Quader who he thought would be in the opposition.

“There is no need to say anything about it [opposition] now. We will win the election. I do not want to mention the margin of the victory,” said Quader, also road transport and bridges minister.

“People are enthusiastic about the election. Hopefully, we will get a decent number of seats, but I don’t want to say how many as I don’t want to be an astrologer like [BNP Secretary General] Mirza Fakhrul,” he added.

Asked whether the 12th parliamentary election would be acceptable to foreigners, Quader said, “Let the election take place. The foreigners will say whether it is acceptable.”

Stating that the polls would have been more competitive if the BNP participated, Quader said, “All we are saying is that voters’ participation will be satisfactory. The main opposition party is not here, we regret it. This is regrettable.”

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