Asking the administrative officials to play an impartial role in the upcoming national polls, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General and former lawmaker Mia Golam Parwar has said that if next year’s election is held like those in 2014, 2018, or 2024, the nation will face extreme hardship.

“Remain neutral. Make the upcoming election transparent. Ensure every candidate gets an equal opportunity to campaign,” he said while delivering his speech as the chief guest at a street rally at the Zero Point in Khulna before inaugurating a motorcycle rally.

“The officers who worked for a particular party in the past—those OCs and SPs—have all fled. Now they are facing the tribunal. Keep this in mind. If the upcoming election is held like ’14, ’18, or ’24, the nation will suffer.”

He warned, “The chief justice has fled. The Khatib of Baitul Mukarram has fled. The DIG has fled. The police commissioner has fled. Many OCs have resigned and crossed the border into India. If similar accusations come against you, you won’t have any way to escape,” he said.

Calling for an election free from the influence of black money, he said this time, the people have vowed to reject those who previously seized enclosures and destroyed temples, and to vote for peace.

“After passing through the dark era of authoritarian rule, we are now on the path to a new Bangladesh. We want to build a new Bangladesh. In 54 years, we have seen many parties and symbols—boat, plough, paddy sheaf. Under every government, there has been corruption, looting, and a failure to ensure food, clothing, and shelter for the people. It has been proven that a country cannot achieve peace if it is governed by man-made laws. So let us build a state based on the Qur’an in the days ahead,” the Jamaat leader said.

Parwar said the new generation has already brought change in Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University, Chittagong University, and Rajshahi University, and it will continue.

“They have transformed a country ruled for 54 years. Following this momentum, the nation will bring change in the upcoming election as well, insha’Allah. I urge the people to vote for honest and capable candidates to bring change to the country’s future,” he said.

Later, a long motorcycle rally, led by Mia Golam Parwar, the candidate for Khulna-5 (Dumuria-Fultala) parliamentary seat, started from Zero Point in Khulna and passed through Gutudia, Dumuria, Khornia, Chuknagar, Atharomail, Rudaghra, Raghunathpur, Shahpur, Dhamalia, Jamira, Fultala, and Damodor, concluding with another brief street rally at Shirotmoni Shaheed Minar.