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News of Jan
3, 2007
Poll Boycott Call by Awami League
Dhaka,
Jan 3
The Awami League (AL)-led alliance in Bangladesh Wednesday declared
it will boycott the upcoming general elections, leaving the
long-awaited polls scheduled to begin Jan 22 shrouded in
uncertainty.
The alliance's candidates across the country withdrew their
nominations Wednesday, the last day of withdrawal, alleging
conspiracy by the caretaker government to rig the polls.
The rival alliance led by Begum Khaleda Zia was the net initial
gainer of the decision. Both, the former prime minister and her son
Tareq Rahman, were declared elected unopposed after the AL
candidates opposing them withdrew from the contest.
AL chief and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina announced the
boycott decision at a crowded media conference earlier in the day,
demanding the resignation of President Iajuddin Ahmed who, as chief
advisor of an interim government, is tasked to conduct the polls.
Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina made the announcement at a
crowded media conference earlier in the day, demanding the
resignation of President Lajuddin Ahmed who, as chief advisor of an
interim government, is tasked to conduct the polls.
She called the elections "pre-planned", reported the Daily Star
Online.
Technically, a boycott should facilitate a no-contest victory for
the rival four-party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) alliance
headed by Begum Khaleda Zia. However, leaders of the parties that
announced the boycott have already said they would not permit a
walkover but "resist" the elections.
The new development, not entirely unexpected, pointed to the
possibility of large-scale violence in the run-up to the ninth
general election.
The alliance had earlier given a call to observe a strike next
Saturday and Sunday to protest against the disqualification from
election of former military ruler H.M. Ershad, an ally.
Stating that the elections will be held as scheduled, Acting Chief
Election Commissioner Mahfuzur Rahman raised a technical point about
the way the nominations were withdrawn. They would be "considered as
per law, as they handed in their withdrawal papers to the CEC
instead of to relevant returning officers and assistant returning
officers".
Asked if the elections would be acceptable to the international
community without full participation, Mahfuz said: "Let's see what
the international community have to say."
At her media briefing, Hasina was flanked by her party general
secretary and the 14-party coordinator Abdul Jalil as well as two
former presidents - Jatiya Party chief H.M. Ershad and Liberal
Democratic Party's (LDP) A.Q.M. Badrudozza Choudhury - and other
front-ranking leaders.
There was no immediate reaction from Zia, the likely net gainer of
Wednesday's developments. Her alliance partner and chief of the
Jamaat-e-Islami, Motiur Rahman Nizami, called the boycott decision
"unfortunate" and said Hasina and her allies would be "solely
responsible" for any violence during the run-up to the polls.
"We also want free and fair election with all parties'
participation. We don't like to get walkover, rather, we want to win
the election through fair competition," the Jamaat leader was quoted
as saying by the United News of Bangladesh (UNB) news agency.
He said the AL-led alliance had "raised new demands illogically to
foil the election and create constitutional vacuum in the country".
The demands are, however, not new and have been repeatedly stated in
the
past two months.
The 14-party conglomerate, called "the grand alliance" by the media
since the recent inclusion of three new allies, accused Ahmed of
working as "a rubber stamp" of BNP and of working to fulfil Zia's
agenda.
Hasina has been accusing Zia, who ruled for the past five years, of
packing the government at all levels - judiciary, bureaucracy, the
armed forces and also the Election Commission - with its supporters.
Ahmed, she told the media, had failed to right the situation and to
create "an atmosphere conducive to free and fair elections".
The poll process began Dec 9. Dates have been shifted more than
once, and the Awami alliance says a lot of time has been "wasted" in
political bickering with Ahmed and his administration and this
should be compensated by the polling day being postponed.
One of her principal demands has been to update the voters' list.
Media reports have alleged that hundreds of thousands of voters,
especially those belonging to the religious minorities, have been
excluded from the list.
The alliance comprises a large number or centrist and Left-of-centre
parties including the communists. Together with Jatiya Party and
LDP, they can be said to represent a majority of the political
phalanx in Bangladesh.
This is Bangladesh's second poll boycott. In 1986, it was Zia's BNP
that boycotted. Hasina joined the protest in what was later seen as
a tactical mistake. The Jatiya Party won the elections, with Ershad
having firm grip as the military ruler.
IANS
News of Jan
3, 2007
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