DHAKA, 4 January 2007 — A key political alliance in Bangladesh announced yesterday it will boycott this month’s general elections, alleging the interim government charged with organizing the poll is biased in favor of its opponents.
The alliance’s boycott deepens a political crisis that has crippled the South Asian country for months, triggering violent street protests that have killed at least 34 and forcing the interim government to deploy troops to maintain peace.
“The caretaker government is not neutral,” Hasina Wajed, a former prime minister and leader of a newly formed alliance of 17 parties, told a news conference here.
Acting Chief Election Commissioner Mahfuzur Rahman said the elections will go ahead. “The Election Commission is proceeding with arrangements for the elections on Jan. 22,” he told reporters at the Election Commission Secretariat.
Alliance candidates began pulling out from the race yesterday, the deadline for withdrawals. As a result, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief and Hasina’s archfoe Khaleda Zia and her son won their seats in Parliament unopposed. The district election office said Khaleda was elected from Bogra-6 (Sadar) and her son Tarique from Bogra-7 (Gabtali) constituencies unopposed as their rival Awami League candidates withdrew on instructions from the party.
Five others won their seats without a contest. They are former Finance Minister M. Saifur Rahman from Sylhet-1, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami from Pabna-1, Shariful Alam of BNP from Kishoreganj-7, Shahjahan Omar of BNP from Jhalakati-1 and Syed Emran Saleh of BNP from Mymensingh-1 (Haluaghat).
Hasina’s alliance wanted the election to be postponed until a new voter list was ready, and has threatened to disrupt the balloting unless its demands are met.
The rival four-party coalition, led by Khaleda, said it would participate in the election. “We shall take part in the polls in spite of the boycott by Hasina’s alliance,” said Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, an aide to Khaleda.
Bhuiyan urged Hasina’s alliance to reconsider the boycott, and called for the election to be held as scheduled.
Under the constitution, elections must be held within 90 days after an incumbent government resigns. Khaleda stepped down, as laid down in the constitution, at the end of her term to allow the caretaker administration to prepare for the election.
— Additional input from agencies
