Taking part in next election without the proposed reforms will be "suicidal" as the present government is "conspiring to rig the people's verdict" once again, they said at a seminar on electoral reforms at the Engineers Institution in the city.

Awami League (AL) organised the seminar on "Electoral Process and Caretaker Government: Reforms in the Light of Experiences" to mark the fourth anniversary of the eighth parliamentary election.

AL leader AMA Muhith placed the keynote paper at the seminar where leaders of the 14-party alliance including the AL, left 11-party coalition, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), National Awami Party (NAP) and academics spoke.

The main opposition also observed the day as "a day of vote rigging and result manipulation".

AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil described in detail the reform agenda of the opposition parties and urged people to launch a vigorous movement to realise the demands.

"People's verdict will not be reflected in the election without the reforms," Jalil said, adding,

"Sensing their (BNP and Jamaat) defeat in the next polls, they are completing all preparations to snatch people's votes."

"We have to force the government to realise the demands as these are also demands of the people," he said.

"We don't want to commit suicide," Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon said commenting on taking part in the next election without electoral reforms.

On the August 17 serial bomb blasts across the country, the senior opposition leader said, "It is now becoming clear who were behind the crime as media reports have revealed that 40 percent of the arrestees were involved in Jamaat politics."

Under the alliance rule, not only public life, national security is under threat, he said referring to the law and order slide in the country.

Senior AL leader Abdur Razzak also expressed his opinion against participating in the election without reforms in the caretaker government and EC.

"We don't want to be a party to a rigged election," JSD President Hasanul Haq Inu said, adding, "Rejecting is better than taking part in a bad poll."

Dhaka University Professor Muntasir Mamun said, "Opposition parties have to pledge that they will not participate in the next polls under the present officials of the Election Commission Secretariat."

He also suggested the opposition to make preparations for an all out movement in the coming days to thwart the present government's plan to snatch people's verdict.

Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim and Dilip Barua, among others, attended the seminar presided by acting AL President Zillur Rahman.