Dhaka, Nov 26 – Despite opposition threat to boycott, Bangladesh Election Commission announced Monday the country’s 10th parliamentary election will be held on Jan 5 next year.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin who made the announcement appealed to all political parties to contest the election, Xinhua news agency reported
The deadline for submission of nomination papers is Dec 2.
The Bangladeshi government has deployed thousands of police and paramilitary troops in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country over fear of violence following the announcement of the polling date.
In protest against the poll schedule, opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) announced to enforce countrywide road and railway blockade for 48 hours from Tuesday morning.
“We reject the election schedule,” BNP spokesman Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told reporters shortly after the announcement.
He said the BNP has demanded to postpone announcement of the poll schedule until after a political consensus is reached on the formation of the caretaker cabinet to oversee the election.
Despite the BNP objection, the controversial caretaker cabinet was sworn in at the Presidential House on Monday evening.
All six ministers and two state ministers are lawmakers from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ruling Bangladesh Awami League-led alliance.
Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s BNP and its 17 allies have rejected Hasina’s all-party interim cabinet proposal.
At the cabinet meeting on Nov 5, all ministers reportedly decided to resign to pave the way for the formation of the all-party interim government headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque warned the government of dire consequences if a one-sided election is held without the main opposition party.
– Bernama
