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Polls on schedule, says Khaleda Zia

Haroon Habib

Government to hand over power to caretaker administration next month

DHAKA: Thousands of activists of the ruling Bangladesh National Party (BNP) took out a rally in Dhaka on Sunday marking the 28th founding day of the party. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who addressed the party workers, declared that the next general elections will be held on schedule — after her Government hands over power to a caretaker administration next month.

The rally virtually turned into the start of the ruling party's election campaign. The march, one of the largest political programmes by the BNP in recent times, was apparently a show of strength.

Flagging off the procession, Ms Zia said, "The election of 2007 is very important for the country" adding it will be held "in accordance with the Constitution under a neutral caretaker government." The statement gave a clear hint that the Government will go ahead with the election without implementing the reforms in the caretaker government system and the Election Commission as demanded by the Opposition parties. Opposition Leader Sheikh Hasina has accused Ms. Zia of putting in place "machinations" to rig the elections. The 14-party Opposition combine announced it would not participate in any election organised under the supervision of Justice K.M. Hassan, the "partisan" chief adviser of the caretaker government and the Chief Election Commissioner Justice M.A. Aziz. "We, along with the people, will not let anybody arrange any farcical polls in Bangladesh and the next parliamentary polls will be held only after bringing about reforms in the caretaker administration and the Election Commission," the coordinator of the combine, Abdul Jalil, told mediapersons Sunday.

A newly-formed Opposition alliance, Oikya Front, led by the BNP's founding secretary and former President D. Barudouzza Chowhury and Kamal Hossain has said that without electoral reforms it would not contest the elections.

As part of the Opposition combine's action programme, top leaders will address rallies around the country and lay a two-hour siege to the Prime Minister's Office on September 12 to press for electoral reforms.

On September 18, the Opposition combine will organise a public rally at the city's Paltan Maidan from where Awami League chief and Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina is likely to announce the final action programme against the Government.

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