US urges Bangladeshis to settle pre-election spats

Washington, Dec 15: The top US diplomat for South Asia urged Bangladeshis today to resolve bitter disputes before January elections in the Muslim country that is a partner in the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

Richard Boucher, assistant US secretary of state for South and Central Asia, said Washington remained neutral in the Jan. 23 parliamentary election but was helping authorities in Bangladesh overcome problems that have triggered conflicts.

''The achievement of stable, moderate democracy in a Muslim country, which by and large Bangladesh has done, is really something that can stand in good stead in the region both as an element of stability but also as a model to others,'' he said in a speech at the Heritage Foundation think tank.

Political rivals Sheikh Hasina -- daughter of assassinated independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman -- and Begum Khaleda Zia have alternated as prime minister of the country for the past 15 years and are now locked in a tense battle for power.

Bangladesh's Election Commission said today it had extended the deadline for updating the voters' list by three days to December 18, partly fulfilling demands by a multiparty alliance led by Hasina that alleges the current electoral roll included 14 million ''fake'' voters.

Hasina's Awami League alliance staged a siege of election offices across the country today in the latest bid to force the removal of election officials she accuses of bias in favor of Khaleda and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Boucher declined to comment on the various allegations but said the United States, which has donated 2 million dollar for the electoral process, hoped there would be no boycotts and that new, improved voter lists would satisfy all parties.

Reuters

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