BNP has decided not to participate in the upcoming upazila election and the by-polls to the vacant mayoral post of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC).

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir disclosed the decision after a meeting of party standing committee members at BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office on Thursday night, reports the UNB.

‘We’ve taken a decision that we’re not taking party in the upazila polls and the by-election to the mayoral post of Dhaka North City Corporation. We think elections under the current government and the Election Commission will only turn into a farce,’ he said.

The BNP leader further said, ‘It’s already been proved through the national election that no election will be held in a free and fair manner without a neutral government. That’s why we’re not going to join the elections. It’s our party’s decision.’

The Election Commission announced the fresh schedule for the by-election on Tuesday after the High Court order clearing the way to hold the polls.

The DNCC mayoral post fell vacant as its mayor Annisul Huq passed away on November 30, 2017.

Apart from Fakhrul, BNP standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Moudud Ahmed, Jamiruddin Sircar, Mahbubur Rahman, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan and Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury were present at the meeting.

Earlier, the BNP standing committee members held a meeting with pro-BNP senior lawyers and discussed various legal issues irritating to BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s cases.