DHAKA: A political alliance led by Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia set tough preconditions yesterday to take part in parliamentary elections in December, a party official said.
The country’s army-backed interim authority has set the vote for Dec. 18, and vowed to make it fair and credible in order to restore a flawless and sustainable democracy.
The alliance of Khaleda’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its main ally Jamaat-e-Islami party have asked the Election Commission to scrap a requirement for mandatory registration of political parties to contest the polls.
BNP Secretary-General Khandaker Delwar Hossain told reporters after an alliance meeting that the grouping also demanded the lifting of a state of emergency imposed by the interim government.
Hossain did not say what would happen if the conditions were not met.
The alliance added that all corruption cases against Khaleda, who was released on bail early this month after a year behind the bars, should be quashed immediately.
The charges against Khaleda and hundreds of others detained in an anti-corruption drive by the interim administration, are still pending in courts. Those detained included around 170 key political figures, mostly from the BNP and the Awami League led by Khaleda’s archrival former Prime Minister Hasina Wajed.
