Thousands flock to Bangladesh leader Khaleda's rally

DHAKA, Dec 19 (Reuters) Tens of thousands people streamed into the Bangladeshi capital today in a show of support for former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia a day after her bitter rival threatened to boycott elections next month.

Khaleda who has repeatedly accused her opponent Sheikh Hasina, also a former prime minister, of trying to sabotage the election set for January 22 was expected to spell out her stand at one of the biggest rallies in Dhaka in recent weeks.

''We are going to arrange a much bigger rally to demonstrate Khaleda's huge popularity and to send a signal to the opposition that we still command the field,'' said Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, a leader of Khaleda's Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

The elite Rapid Action Battalion force guarded the Paltan public ground as thousands of Khaleda supporters arrived in buses and trains, many carrying banners and portraits of the leader.

The runup to the polls has been violent and tense with rival activists clashing almost daily. At least 44 people have been killed and hundreds injured since late October in protests over electoral reforms.

Hasina who leads the Awami League told a crowd of about 100,000 people yesterday that she would boycott the elections unless reforms were carried out to ensure a free and fair poll.

Hasina and her allies have been demanding the removal of elections officials she accuses of a bias towards Khaleda's party and an overhaul of the voters list.

She has also been demanding that President Iajuddin Ahmed resign as chief of the caretaker authority charged to hold elections for failing to show impartiality.

Khaleda who stepped down in October after her five-year-term ended has insisted the election must be held withing the stipulated time to save the country from a constitutional crisis.

The two women are the main contenders in the coming polls, after they had alternated as prime ministers of the impoverished country for the last 15 years.

REUTERS PDM KN1453