Published: Wednesday, 18 January, 2006, 11:44 AM Doha Time
DHAKA: Thousands of Bangladeshi opposition activists marched in the capital yesterday, demanding the top election official quit, accusing him of backing the government. Hundreds of riot police blocked the protesters from marching to the headquarters of the Election Commission in Dhaka, placing barbed-wire barricades across the streets. They chanted calls for Chief Election Commissioner M A Aziz to quit and stop preparing a new voters list in defiance of a High Court order. Opposition leaders say registered voters who are not supporters of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party or its Islamic allies could be dropped from a new list. They plan bigger protests across the country on Thursday, despite fears of arrest or trouble. Yesterday's rally was peaceful and there were no arrests. "We will allow no election under M A Aziz," said Jahangir Kabir Nanak, chief of the youth wing of the main opposition party, the Awami League. Nanak said Aziz supported the four-party ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, and urged Bangladeshis to "foil their conspiracy to manipulate the coming election". The election is due in January, 2007, but an Awami-led 14-party alliance wants it sooner, accusing Khaleda of mismanagement. The two other election commissioners oppose the plan for a new roll, but late on Monday President Iajuddin Ahmed appointed two more members to the commission, bringing the total number to five, including Aziz. The president on Monday appointed Justice Mahfuzur Rahman, a former high court judge, and S M Zakaria, secretary in the Election Commission Secretariat, to the Election Commission. "We will go for a harsher campaign if ... Aziz does not resign and the appointments of the two new ... members are not cancelled," said Nanak. Awami chief Sheikh Hasina, a former prime minister, said yesterday the appointments were intended to strengthen Aziz. The opposition wants the commission to implement a High Court order to update the existing electoral roll rather than draft a new one. Aziz was not available for comment. Objections have been mounting against the new appointments and the preparation of a fresh voters list and the opposition has called a nationwide strike Jan 22 to protest against what they said was the government's bad intentions. "We've decided to reject the two new commissioners who have been appointed to execute the government's ploy to rig votes in the next general election," Abdul Jalil, the Awami League general secretary, said yesterday. "The appointments are unconstitutional, motivated and a barrier to the development of democracy, which cannot be accepted, and we reject it," Abdul Jalil said. Hasanul Haq Inu, president of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, said the new appointments were made to "tactfully sidestep" the high court's verdict which asked the Election Commission to update the existing voters' roll instead of preparing a fresh one. - Agencies
