B'desh opposition says stage set for talk on reform

DHAKA, Sep 30 (Reuters) Bangladesh's main opposition party, the Awami League, is set to hold talks with the ruling party on electoral reforms to make national elections in January free and fair, a key opposition leader said today.

''Now we shall seek to fix a date, venue and time for the talks, in the next few days,'' Abdul Jalil, Awami League general secretary and coordinator of a 14-party alliance, told reporters.

Mr Jalil has been authorised by his party to discuss with Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, secretary-general of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), ways to resolve their long-standing differences over the reforms.

''Mr Bhuiyan phoned me yesterday to propose the meeting ... I called him back today to confirm our acceptance,'' Mr Jalil added.

''The stage now looks set for the dialogue and I expect both sides would try to keep up the momentum.'' The opposition led by Awami chief Sheikh Hasina, a former prime minister, demanded reforms including removal of the chief election commissioner and his deputies for alleged pro-government bias.

The opposition also wants a say in choosing the head of an interim caretaker authority that will supervise the January 2007 parliamentary elections to ensure that they are free and fair.

Opposition parties have threatened to boycott and resist the election unless the reforms are implemented.

Initial efforts to arrange talks between government and opposition over the reforms stalled after the Awami League objected to the presence of a hardline Islamist group, Jamaat-e-Islami party.

The BNP insisted on the participation of the Jamaat, a key partner in Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia's coalition.

Mr Bhuiyan told reporters today that he hoped for an ''open-minded discussion'' with Jalil and said he would consult the BNP's partners, including Jamaat, before taking a final decision.

He said he expected the talks to begin ''in a day or two'' and BNP coalition partners would be kept informed of the outcome.

''I am hopeful ... and will consult our allies before a decision is made (on the reforms),'' he said.

The Awami League accuses the Jamaat of opposing Bangladesh's 1971 independence from Pakistan and of helping the Pakistani army carry out what it calls a genocide in the former East Pakistan.

Jamaat said late yesterday it did not expect the proposed BNP-Awami meeting to resolve the impasse.

''The meeting will not succeed,'' Jamaat secretary-general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid told reporters.

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