Bangladesh’s interim government said parliamentary elections will be held on Dec. 18 after nearly two years of emergency rule.
Fakhruddin Ahmed, chief adviser to the country’s caretaker government, announced on Saturday the much-anticipated date in a nationally broadcast speech.
“I would like to inform the nation that the Election Commission has decided to hold the parliamentary elections on Dec. 18,” Ahmed said in his speech shortly before flying to New York to attend the UN General Assembly.
Ahmed said that elections to local village and town councils would be held in two phases — on Dec. 24 and Dec. 28.
Bangladesh has been ruled by a military-backed interim government since January last year, when Bangladeshi President Iajuddin Ahmed canceled scheduled general elections and declared a state of emergency. The president’s move came after months of violent protests demanding electoral reforms.
Ahmed said emergency rules that bar public gatherings would be relaxed or suspended during the election campaign.
The interim government, which declared a campaign against corruption and arrested several top politicians since coming to power, recently released the chiefs of the country’s two largest parties.
Sheikh Hasina, who heads the Awami League party, was paroled in June. Her main rival, Khaleda Zia, whose Bangladesh Nationalist Party held power until October 2006, was freed earlier this month on bail.
Both leaders face several corruption charges, which are pending in the courts. Political analysts deemed their release from pre-trial detention as a tactic to ensure their parties’ participation in the new elections.
The interim government has initiated some electoral reforms, such as making it mandatory for political parties to register with the Election Commission. It has also compiled a new electoral roll including voters’ photographs to avoid cheating.
In a brief reaction to Ahmed’s speech late on Saturday, the Awami League said that it was disappointed that the government did not announce a timeframe for withdrawing the state of emergency.
There was no immediate word from Zia’s party.
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