Dhaka, Nov 14 (PTI) Bangladesh’s Election Commission is expected to announce the dates for the next general elections on Wednesday, an official said on Tuesday, amid a street campaign by the opposition parties demanding a non-party interim government to conduct the polls expected in January.
“The Chief Election Commissioner (Kazi Habibul Awal) will address the nation tomorrow (Wednesday)” during which he is likely to announce the schedule, an EC official familiar with the process said.
The official said the CEC would address the nation live through the state-run BTV.
His comments came amid mounting political tensions as Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its far-right allies like the Jamaat-e-Islami have waged a street campaign demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government to allow a non-party interim government to conduct the general elections.
The ruling Awami League has declined to accept the demand, saying elections would be held under the incumbent premier Sheikh Hasina, who also rejected proposals for dialogue with the opposition by the US and other major Western countries, calling BNP a terrorist organisation.
Since October 28, the opposition parties have been enforcing transport blockades and clashing with police and rival activists in support of their demand.
The political violence in the last two weeks killed at least five people including a policeman. Over 200 people were wounded and dozens of vehicles, mostly empty buses, were damaged or set on fire during the protests, prompting authorities to deploy paramilitary troops to guard highways and maintain law and order in major cities.
According to media reports, some 8,000 opposition leaders and activists including BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir have been arrested in a nationwide crackdown.
The government leaders have said that the opposition leaders and activists were not arrested for political reasons, but for their involvement in “criminal activities”.
But, the BNP said the Awami League-government turned the country into a “big prison”.
Major Western countries, including the United States, have called for a political settlement ahead of elections through dialogue among three major parties – Awami League, BNP and Jatiya Party.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas on Monday sought meetings with leaders of the three parties to break the political impasse.
“The United States wants free and fair elections conducted in a peaceful manner and calls on all sides to eschew violence and exercise restraint,” the embassy said in a media statement. PTI AR ZH ZH
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