In Moulvibazar, Shafikur Rahman Says Jamaat Will Contest Election Only If a Level Playing Field Is Ensured

Jamaat-e-Islami will take part in the election only if a level playing field is ensured, the party's ameer Dr Shafikur Rahman has said during his visit to Moulvibazar in Sylhet Division. On the same visit he also spoke about the role of the home minister, saying the minister should pay more attention to the work of his own ministry.

Both remarks by the Jamaat ameer are now at the centre of local political discussion. On the question of election participation, he has clearly set out the demand for a level playing field — a field of equal opportunity for all parties and candidates — as his party's condition.

A level playing field generally means an electoral environment in which every party and candidate can campaign equally, voters can vote without obstruction, and the administration and law enforcement agencies play a neutral role. Opposition parties often raise this condition before elections; in the Jamaat ameer's statement, it has now been voiced as a condition for participation itself.

His comment on the home ministry comes against the backdrop of the law and order situation. Earlier on the same Moulvibazar visit, he had criticised the law and order situation, saying it was going downhill before everyone's eyes. In that continuation, he has now said the home minister should be more attentive to the work of his own ministry.

Dr Shafikur Rahman, who also serves as leader of the opposition in the national parliament, is on his first visit to Moulvibazar since the election. Local leaders and activists regard the visit as important not only organisationally but also for its political message.

On the same visit, he has also raised questions about local government elections. He had earlier said he sees no good signs regarding the local elections, and had commented that the government was making the Election Commission questionable by appointing party people to it ahead of those elections. His party, he had said, is observing the situation.

In continuation of that observation, the statement that participation will follow only if a level playing field is ensured has clarified the party's position a step further: the decision to take part now depends on the electoral environment itself, as expressed by the party's top leader.

Moulvibazar is an important district of Sylhet Division. In this tea-garden-dominated district, expatriate voters and the worker community have always played a large role in electoral politics, so a message delivered from this divisional visit has resonated in local politics as well.

Preparations surrounding local elections are under way in the other districts of Sylhet Division too. The opposition leader's visit and his successive statements have increased political activity across the division, and discussion over the roles of the Election Commission and the administration has intensified.

No formal reaction from the government side or the Election Commission to these remarks had been received by the time this report was written. Any reaction will be reported to readers when it arrives.

Attention now turns to what formal steps Jamaat takes next over this level-playing-field condition, and what decision its observation of the electoral environment reaches. After this message from Moulvibazar, political circles will be watching closely.