DHAKA, 29 November 2006 — Awami League activists set fire to two election commission offices in Bangladesh yesterday as the 14-party alliance announced plans to lay seige to all election offices across the country.
The protests came a day after the election commission set parliamentary elections for Jan. 21, defying calls by the Awami League alliance to delay poll announcements until the commission was reorganized and the voters’ list updated.
The alliance accuses the election commission of bias toward their main rival Khaleda Zia, who ended her five-year term as prime minister in October, and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Riot police stopped thousands of protesters, led by former prime minister and Awami League chief Hasina Wajed, as they marched toward the heavily-guarded election commission headquarters in the capital Dhaka.
Protesters scuffled with police and broke through at least one barricade, but security forces prevented them from reaching the headquarters.
“We have deployed 7,000 police around the election commission office to prevent opposition supporters from besieging it,” said additional police commissioner A.K.M. Mahfuzul Hoque. Thousands more protesters held small rallies across the capital, witnesses said. “We will not be deterred by any resistance ... and will launch a more fierce campaign from Sunday to achieve our demands,” said Awami League leader Mohammad Nasim, a former home minister. “Unless the election commission cancels the schedules by next Saturday, we will launch a new wave of protests, including an indefinite transport blockade from Sunday,” Abdul Jalil, general secretary of the Awami League, told reporters.
Earlier yesterday, suspected alliance supporters set fire to district election offices in the southern coastal town of Barisal and in Munshiganj district, near Dhaka, police said. Hundreds of documents were burned.
Another election office and a court building were set on fire in the southwestern town of Khulna yesterday.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will send a top aide to Bangladesh ahead of the election to help ensure voting is peaceful and transparent. Craig Jenness, director of the world body’s Electoral Assistance Division, will be in Bangladesh from today through Friday to meet with the head of the caretaker government and other senior officials, election authorities, political party representatives and various interest groups.
M. Morshed Khan, Bangladesh’s immediate past foreign minister, said he did not expect Jenness’ visit to resolve the impasse.
