Arafat Hasan of DOT :
“We wanted a transparent, fair election for our country. Even the Prime Minister herself said that she wanted a competitive election this time. We trusted her, which led to a meeting with her. We wanted a bit more time so that we could clearly communicate with our countrymen, but the government did not give us any chance to. She gave excuses about Biswa Ijtema, Christmas, etc. We only got the chance to hold just five rallies before the election. This was not enough for Oikyafront’s victory.” These were the words spoken by Dr. Zafrullah, a trustee and the founder of Gonoshasthaya Kendra, at a talk show on NTV. But he continued that Oikyafront nevertheless played an historic role, in that it was able to bring all parties into the election. “The failure was that we were unable to create a safe election atmosphere.
We believe in systematic protest and have continued to do just that. Had we called for a mass protest on 31st, the country would’ve definitely been turned upside-down. We have seen that same frustration in the public as well, even though we did not want it. We had put our trust in the Prime Minister, but she failed to fulfill any of her promises that she made.”
The Oikyafront leader also added, “I’ve seen many things in my age but this is the first time that I saw a competition between the three wings of the armed forces to congratulate this celebration of disorder. And the police force was the main voter. The whole affair is a bad omen for the nation and its people. It goes without saying that this election was flawed and biased. The government took a wrong step and there should be serious discussions about its aftermath.”