Former premier Sheikh Hasina's Awami League (AL) has welcomed the schedule of parliamentary elections in Bangladesh
DHAKA: Former premier Sheikh Hasina's Awami League (AL) has welcomed the schedule of parliamentary elections in Bangladesh announced overnight while her arch-rival Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said they would make their reaction public "in due time".
"Sheikh Hasina has welcomed the announcement and said the people's long wait has ended," her press secretary Abul Kalam Azad said quoting the ex-premier, who is now in Washington for treatment.
Azad's remarks came immediately after Chief Election Commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda announced the schedule of December 18 elections in a nationwide televised speech, hours after the High Court gave nod for the polls in a crucial verdict.
AL's acting president Zillur Rahman echoed her in welcoming the schedule but said that the government's main duty was to lift the state of emergency for creating a democratic environment in the country ahead of the polls.
BNP Secretary General Delwar Hossain said that his party and its alliance partners had discussed the matter and will make their reaction public "in due time".
BNP hurriedly called a meeting of the its alliance partners including the Islamic Jamaat-e-Islami after Sunday night's announcement of the detailed schedule.
Quoting the meeting insiders, the Daily Star reported that a decision on whether the BNP-led alliance would contest
the upcoming parliamentary poll might come on Wednesday after the chiefs of the components meet to finalise their stance.
The two major political parties on Sunday also expressed rather opposing feelings about the developing political scenario in the country vis-a-vis the parliamentary election as the visiting UN secretary General Ban Ki-moon met separately with the senior leaders of AL and BNP.
AL told him they expected a peaceful appropriate environment would be created through withdrawal of the state of emergency, while BNP on the other hand said a conducive election atmosphere was yet to be created as the interim government was yet to meet any of its demands.
The Election Commission (EC) announced the schedule for the planned election hours after the High Court cleared ways for the polls in a crucial verdict, dismissing writ petitions challenging the EC gazette on the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies.
But immediately after the judgement, the petitioner of the writ filed by a former junior minister of BNP government and four others appealed before the Supreme Court, which accepted their plea for hearing.
But the Election Commission in an urgently called meeting announced the schedule saying the last date for submission of nomination papers for the parliamentary polls would be November 13 and the last date for withdrawal of the candidature would be November 24.
Coinciding with the schedule announcement a senior leader of the interim government said restrictions on all political activities in line with the demands of major political parties saying "we have agreed that it is very essential to fulfill this demand".
The government several months ago relaxed the emergency rules allowing political parties to hold indoor rallies but street marches and open space gathering were banned so far.
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