The Election Commission (EC) yesterday cancelled its much-debated electoral talks with the BNP slated for November 22 until the court decides on legality of the invitation letter to the Saifur-led faction.
"The dialogue will not be held on schedule. We will have to wait for the issue to be disposed of at the court," Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda told reporters.
The announcement came a day after the High Court (HC) ordered a four-week stay on the EC's letter inviting pro-reform acting secretary general Major (retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed to the talks.
On November 5, the commission sent the invitation to Hafiz, dismissing pro-Khaleda faction's claim that they represent the mainstream BNP and so Khandaker Delwar Hossain, the secretary general appointed by Chairperson Khaleda Zia, deserves to be in the dialogue.
Explaining the rationale for its decision, the EC said it had followed the 'doctrine of necessity' in inviting the Saifur-Hafiz group to the electoral talks. The EC's decision that came against the backdrop of a protracted wrangling between the two factions caused uproar.
The detained BNP chief filed a writ petition challenging the decision Thursday.
Asked if the EC would move against the HC order staying the November 22 dialogue for four weeks, the CEC said they have yet to think about it.
"We will decide on our next course of action in consultation with the attorney general. Besides, we will have to respond to the rule issued by the High Court," the CEC added.
The talks with the political parties on electoral reforms began on September 12 and were supposed to be completed by November.
Referring to the HC's order, senior officials at the EC Secretariat said it might take at least a month to settle the dispute over who in fact the real BNP are.
The poll chief however said the roadmap to the next election would not be hampered since it has time till March to complete the work on electoral reforms.
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