Hasina's Awami League welcomes poll schedule, BNP yet to react

Anisur Rahman
Dhaka, Nov 3 (PTI) Former premier Sheikh Hasina's Awami League (A.L.) has welcomed the schedule of parliamentary elections in Bangladesh announced overnight while her arch-rival Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (B.N.P.) said they would make their reaction public "in due time".

"Sheikh Hasina has welcomed the announcement and said
the people's long wait has ended," her press secretary Abul
Kalam Azad told reporters quoting the ex-premier, who is now
in Washington for treatment.

Azad's remarks came immediately after Chief Election
Commissioner A.T.M. Shamsul Huda announced the schedule of
December 18 elections in a nationwide televised speech, hours
after the High Court gave nod for the polls in a crucial
verdict.

AL's acting president Zillur Rahman echoed her in
welcoming the schedule but said that the government's main
duty was to lift the state of emergency for creating a
democratic environment in the country ahead of the polls.

B.N.P. Secretary General Delwar Hossain told reporters
that his party and its alliance partners had discussed the
matter and will make their reaction public "in due time".

B.N.P. hurriedly called a meeting of the its alliance
partners including the Islamic Jamaat-e-Islami after last
night's announcement of the detailed schedule.

Quoting the meeting insiders, the Daily Star reported
that a decision on whether the B.N.P.-led alliance would
contest the upcoming parliamentary poll might come on
Wednesday after the chiefs of the components meet to finalise
their stance.

The two major political parties Sunday also
expressed rather opposing feelings about the developing
political scenario in the country vis-a-vis the parliamentary
election as the visiting U.N. secretary General Ban Ki-moon
met separately with the senior leaders of A.L. and B.N.P.

AL told him they expected a peaceful appropriate
environment would be created through withdrawal of the state
of emergency, while B.N.P. on the other hand said a conducive
election atmosphere was yet to be created as the interim
government was yet to meet any of its demands.

The Election Commission (E.C.) announced the schedule
for the planned election hours after the High Court cleared
ways for the polls in a crucial verdict, dismissing writ
petitions challenging the E.C. gazette on the delimitation of
parliamentary constituencies.

But immediately after the judgement, the petitioner of
the writ filed by a former junior minister of B.N.P.
government and four others appealed before the Supreme Court,
which accepted their plea for hearing.

But the Election Commission in an urgently called
meeting announced the schedule saying the last date for
submission of nomination papers for the parliamentary polls
would be November 13 and the last date for withdrawal of the
candidature would be November 24.

Coinciding with the schedule announcement a senior
leader of the interim government said restrictions on all
political activities in line with the demands of major
political parties saying "we have agreed that it is very
essential to fulfill this demand".

The government several months ago relaxed the
emergency rules allowing political parties to hold indoor
rallies but street marches and open space gathering were
banned so far. PTI A.R.