Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman on Saturday said Bangladesh still has a long way to go to build a robust and strong democracy as weaknesses of democracy exist in most of the countries in the world till now.

He said this in a message on the occasion of International Day of Democracy to be observed Sunday with the theme "Navigating AI for Governance and Citizen Engagement."

"Personally, I and my party believe that there is no alternative to promoting and upholding the principles of democracy," Tarique said.

Democracy is a universal value that recognises people`s freedom of expression and unhindered expression of thoughts, he said.

"We are determined to build such a safe, progressive and democratic Bangladesh, which will contribute to global democratic development across national borders."

Since 2007, every year on 15 September, International Day of Democracy has been a special day observed by the member countries of the United Nations to create interest in democracy and to realise its inherent power, said the BNP acting chairman.

Paying deep respect to the memory of those who sacrificed their lives to establish democracy, he prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls of the martyrs who sacrificed themselves and expressed his empathy to the injured.