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Ahmed scraps polls

Dhaka: As the country's political future remained in limbo, President Iajuddin Ahmed on Saturday cancelled the now-deferred January 22 polls, a day after Bangladesh's new interim government decided to scrap the general elections.

``The President has signed the papers cancelling the January 22 polls,'' a presidential palace official said here.

Mr. Ahmed said it was not possible to hold the elections as scheduled as he had proclaimed a state of emergency quitting the post of the chief adviser last week, while the independent Election Commission suspended preparatory works for the polls.

Experts said the cancellation was required as legal difficulties would arise if 19 persons, mostly belonging to Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led four-party alliance, were elected unopposed in the polls, boycotted by Sheikh Hasina's Awami League-led alliance.

The AL-led alliance boycotted the polls alleging that it was set to be rigged in favour of the four-party alliance and waged protracted street protests demanding reconstitution of the Election Commission removing the ``controversial'' Commissioners. — PTI

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