The decision was taken at a meeting of the party’s national standing committee, BNP’s highest policymaking body, at its chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office in the evening.A standing committee member told New Age, ‘How will BNP, a major political party, represent itself in the parliament with five lawmakers!’Five candidates of BNP including the party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and two candidates of its ally Gono Forum have been elected in the polls which they alleged tainted with widespread rigging.After the meeting, Fakhrul at a news briefing, said BNP rejected the results of the 11th parliament polls and demanded reelection under a non-party neutral government as soon as possible after cancelling the elections.When asked how Oikya Front has only scored seven seats in the polls, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul said that the Election Commission would be better equipped to answer this question.Faced with the question why they did not take any measures to stop the ruling party activists from stuffing the ballot boxes the night before the polls, he said they did in many places.

Asked whether the elected lawmakers of Jatiya Oikya Front will take oath, ‘We have rejected the results of the poll,’ the BNP secretary general said.Asked how BNP would move to realise their demand as the Chief Election Commissioner has stated that reelection is not possible, Fakhrul said that they would see through their course of action.He added that the incumbent chief election commissioner has been totally ‘biased’ and ‘partisan’ in his actions, which turned him into a questionable figure.BNP will reorganise the organisation and rebuild the confidence of the party’s leaders and activists and will keenly observe the government’s attitude before launching any future movement, said a standing committee member.About their relationship with opposition alliance Jatiya Oikya Front, also comprising BNP, the standing committee member said they would watch whether Gono Forum’s two lawmakers take oath.During the meeting, some standing committee members decried the decision to participate in the elections, the meeting sources said. Some members suggested that standing committee should take decision independently without obeying the decision of the hierarchy, sources added. Terming the election as disgraceful in the history of the nation, Fakhrul said the election was held using the state machinery. On 95 per cent casting of vote in a number of centres, he said they would fight both legally and through movement against such injustices.‘We definitely have a programme,’ Fakhrul said. He rejected the CEC’s comment that the EC had nothing to do because BNP’s polling agents did not appear at the polling centres.He said there were 100 per cent polling agents in many constituencies but they were driven out and not allowed to enter the polling stations.Fakhrul also alleged that post-election violence has tainted the situation in many places, saying that there has been reports of attacks on houses of candidates and leaders and activists of BNP and Oikya Front. He said, so far over 21,00 leaders and activists were arrested since announcement of the election schedule.Fakhrul termed the engagement of election observers as an eyewash, saying that the visiting election observers were ‘government sponsored’.

BNP standing committee members Khandaker Moshrraf Hossain, Moudud Ahmed, Mahbubur Rahman, Mirza Abbas, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy and Abdul Moyeen Khan among others were present in the meeting.After the standing committee meeting, BNP held a meeting with the leaders of BNP-led alliance at the same venue around 7:00 pm.