BANGLADESH: Bangladesh former Prime Minister Begun Khaleda Zia says poll must be on schedule

Bangladesh's former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia drew tens of thousands of people to a rally in Dhaka on Tuesday at which she asked the interim government to hold general elections next month as planned on Monday (December 18). "So, to uphold the constitution, there must be election within ninety days I mean on the scheduled date, January 22-and you all will cast your vote to save the constitution and the country," Khaleda said. Her bitter rival Sheikh Hasina, also a former prime minister, threatened on Monday to boycott the polls if the government did not implement electoral reforms first. "People are the main source of power, they will cast vote to go to the power. Election commission and presidents do not have power to rig the election or help any party to go in power, only people can do it," said Khalida. Hasina and her allies have been demanding the removal of elections officials she accuses of a bias towards Khaleda's party and an overhaul of the voters list. Khalida ended her five-year term as prime minister late in October and handed power to the caretaker authority charged to hold elections within three months. Tens of thousands of people streamed into the Bangladeshi capital on Tuesday in a show of support for the former prime minister. The elite Rapid Action Battalion force guarded the Paltan public ground as thousands of Khaleda supporters arrived in buses and trains, many carrying banners and portraits of the leader. The runup to the polls has been violent and tense with rival activists clashing almost daily. At least 44 people have been killed and hundreds injured since late October in protests over electoral reforms

ITN Source | December 20, 2006

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