AL to go for tougher programmes to force government to lift emergency; Zia to join the dialogue with govt. and take part in elections; EC incorporating changes in electoral provisions to smoothen political parties registration
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    • Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed asserted that the caretaker government was moving ahead towards holding a free, fair and credible general election even as the Awami League (AL) stated that it would go for tougher programmes, including street agitations, to force the government to withdraw all charges against its leader Sheikh Hasina and lift the state of emergency1. The AL also demanded that the government hold the parliamentary polls in November2.

    The BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia meanwhile, who was freed from her year long detention, announced that she would join the dialogue with the government and take part in the upcoming elections. She also called on the caretaker government to hold the parliamentary elections first and withdraw the state of emergency3. Zia also agreed to meet with Sheikh Hasina to discuss ways to promote fair competition in politics and do away with the culture of mudslinging4.

    Commerce Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman stated that the government on its part had taken steps to bring both the political arch to the negotiating table to help pull the country out of the prevailing political crisis5. In order to make it easier for the political parties to meet the criteria for registration, the EC also announced that it was working to incorporate changes in the new electoral provisions6.

    In a related development, the European Union (EU) stated that it may not send a full election observation mission to Bangladesh if the government did not restore people's 'basic freedoms' at least six weeks before the national polls scheduled for December7.

    In other developments, the political parties on their part have welcomed the move by the caretaker government to formulate the right to information (RTI) law, and have promised to include in their election manifesto pledges to implement it8.

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