Bangladesh’s opposition announces long march schedule

DHAKA, Dec. 24 (NsNewsWire) — Bangladesh’s main opposition party chief Tuesday urged people from all walks of life to converge in capital Dhaka on Dec. 29 in support of its demand for scrapping parliamentary elections slated for Jan. 5.
Opposition Chief Khaleda Zia, also two-time former prime minister, made the plea from a press conference which was convened at the end of the fifth spell of countrywide rail, roads and waterway blockade enforced by her 18-party alliance.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ruling Bangladesh Awami League party has ruled out Khaled’s demand for scrapping the parliament polls.
“There is no alternative but to hold parliamentary elections to maintain democratic process,” Senior AL Leader Amir Hossain Amu told reporters shortly after Khaleda’s briefing.
Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its 17 allies including key Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party have asked Hasina to bring back a non-party caretaker system, or else the opposition won’t participate in the next election because it fears an election without the non-party caretaker government will not be free and fair.
Khaleda Zia’s opposition alliance Thursday called a fresh four-day blockade from Saturday morning demanding parliamentary polls under the interim non-party caretaker government.
Khaleda’s 18-party opposition alliance has enforced prolonged blockades after the Election Commission on Nov. 25 announced the schedule for the 10th parliamentary polls. Scores of people including ruling and opposition men were dead and hundreds others injured in wide spread violence since Nov. 26.
The European Union, Commonwealth and USA have already announced that they won’t send poll observers. Enditem