Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain today expressed optimism that the upcoming parliamentary election, scheduled for February 12, will be held in a fair and peaceful manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He expressed the hope while speaking at the closing session of a training programme organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at a city hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The adviser also said voter turnout in the upcoming national election would exceed 55 percent, citing political consensus and past electoral participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI believe turnout in this election will be more than 55 percent,\u201d he said, noting that voter turnout in the 1991 national election stood at 55 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responding to a question, Touhid Hossain said there had earlier been confusion among some people over the \u201cYes\u201d vote, but major political parties had now expressed support for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople usually vote following their party\u2019s position. Since the major parties are now in favour of the \u2018Yes\u2019 vote, I think it will pass quite easily,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On a separate issue, the adviser said he was not concerned about Pakistan\u2019s decision regarding participation in the World Cup cricket tournament, calling it an internal matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPakistan never said they would not play; they said they would consider it. Our decision not to play in India is our own, and whether Pakistan plays or not is entirely up to them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cForeign diplomats speak here because a large segment of our society wants them to speak. We cannot always place the blame on them,\u201d he said in reply to a question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the event, Stefan Liller, UNDP Resident Representative in Bangladesh, also delivered remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The programme was chaired by DCAB President A K M Moinuddin, while DCAB General Secretary Abu Hena Imrul Kayes also spoke.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain today expressed optimism that the upcoming parliamentary election, scheduled for February 12, will be held in a fair and peaceful manner. He expressed the hope while speaking at the closing session of a training programme organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at a city hotel. The adviser […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":32157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,93],"tags":[48],"class_list":["post-32156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bangladesh","category-nationwide","tag-48"],"yoast_head":"\n