Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday hoped that all the political parties will have the trust in the new Election Commission to be constituted by the President and join the next general election.

“The President has already taken an initiative to reconstitute the Election Commission. We hope all the political parties will have the confidence in it. We also hope they [political parties] will take part in the next election as per the constitution and thus help uphold the march forward of democracy,” she said.

The Prime Minister expressed the optimism in her address to the nation in the evening marking the 3rd anniversary of her present government’s tenure after winning the January 5 polls in 2014.

The PM’s 35-minute address to the nation was simultaneously aired by state-run BTV, Bangladesh Betar and other private TV channels and radio stations.

Mentioning that her party Bangladesh Awami League believes in accomplishing tasks not in words, Hasina said the party has brought all the country’s notable successes and achievements since the Liberation War led by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

“We’ve liberated the country through the War of Independence. The Father of the Nation had taught us not to bow down our heads, and we’ll take Bangladesh to a dignified position in the global arena overcoming all the obstacles and odds,” she added.

The Prime Minister noted that Bangladesh attained the status of a ‘lower middle-income’ country under the Awami League government. “I firmly believe it’s only Awami League which could turn Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021 and a prosperous and developed one by 2041 and thus build ‘Sonar Bangla’ as dreamt by the Father of the Nation.”

She also called upon all, irrespective of class and creed, to devote themselves together to nation building and the country’s development and thus reward a developed, prosperous, beautiful and livable Bangladesh for the future generation.

Hasina said her government has completed three years of its current tenure, and the next general election will be held on completion of the specific timeframe of the present government. “We believe in democracy and we’ve full confidence in our people.”

She said the higher court of the country has repealed the caretaker government system, and the possibility of any bid to grab power through any illegal way has been plugged with the 15th amendment to the constitution.

Referring to the countrywide mayhem and atrocities carried out by the BNP-Jamaat nexus centering the January 5 polls like burning and killing hundreds of people to death alongside damaging property worth thousands of crores of taka through petrol bomb and arson attacks, she said the country’s people have rejected their terrorist activities. “The people of the country don’t want to see the reoccurrence of such acts.”

The Prime Minister said when the country is moving ahead then a vested group is trying to create an anarchic situation through unleashing terrorist acts in the name of Islam.

Hasina called upon Imams, senior citizens, teachers of all educational institutions, including madrashas, Ansar-VDP members and guardians to remain vigilant about militant activities.

“I’ll specially urge the guardians to keep your eyes on your children. Please guide them in such way so that they are not misguided and go to the wrong path,” she added.

Hasina went on saying, “Islam is a religion of peace…the people of Bangladesh is religious but not fanatics, and those who try to spoil the religious harmony of the country wouldn’t be able to have their place on Bangladesh soil.”

As the Awami League government is stepping into the 9th consecutive year, Hasina said it is up to people to assess how much her government has been able to fulfill their expectations. “But, we can firmly say we didn’t leave any stone unturned in our efforts for the development and betterment of the country and its people.”

She said Bangladesh is now on the highway of development overcoming all the obstacles as it is now a ‘universal model of development’. “The present Bangladesh and the one eight years back is not the same. Today’s Bangladesh is the ‘self-determined’ Bangladesh.”

Highlighting the stunning macroeconomic successes of her government in various sectors over the last few years, the Prime Minister said Bangladesh has stunned the whole world through attaining a 6.5 percent GDP growth on average while the target for GDP growth has been set at 7.4 percent for the next year.

Mentioning her government’s plan to generate some 24,000 MW of power by 2021, she assured the people of the country that her government has adopted the highest level of security measures for protecting the environment while setting up the coal-based power plants.

She also said some 2.80 lakh families will be rehabilitated through Ashrayan Project and other projects, including housing programmes by 2019, a law has already been enacted to set up two new medical universities in Chittagong and Rajshahi, while health cards will be distributed soon among some one lakh families living below the poverty level, and it would be expanded to all poverty-hit families across the country in phases, the work for the Padma Bridge with own fund is going on speedily while the work for the 2nd Kachpur, the 2nd Meghna, and the 2nd Gomti bridges will start soon.

Revealing her plan to bring all the districts of the country under railway network, Hasina said the work on conducting a feasibility study for establishing Bangabandhu International Airport on the other side of the Padma River in Madaripur will start soon.

She said works are going on to launch Bangabandhu Satellite-1 in the space by this year while the government is pledge-bound to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as adopted by the UN and 56 targets have been incorporated in Bangladesh’s 7th Five Year Plan.