US envoy seeks Bangladesh election timetable

Dhaka, Apr 4: Bangladesh should announce a timetable for elections, US ambassador Patricia A. Butenis said, so the people can see a path back to democracy from a state of emergency declared in January.

Washington has huge influence in Bangladesh, where an interim government backed by the military is in control, having cancelled polls scheduled for January 22 in the wake of violence between followers of the main political parties.

The interim government has said no new election will be held until politics is rid of widespread corruption. The army chief said this week a new brand of democracy was needed to improve government.

The United States has often played an unofficial mediation role in Bangladeshi politics and, since the current crisis erupted late last year, Butenis has frequently shuttled between the parties and the interim government.

She met Chief Election Commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda and his deputies on Tuesday.

''I, of course, emphasised the desirability of issuing a timeline for the election,'' Butenis said in comments reported by Bangladeshi media and confirmed by the US embassy.

''We understand that the timeline depends on when the electoral reforms will be carried out, but again I urged them to have a projection so the government can make it public.

It was Butenis' first meeting with election officials since the declaration of the emergency and the arrest of a string of high-level officials in an anti-corruption drive.

Among those arrested was Tareque Rahman, a son of former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, and more than a dozen former ministers from both Khaleda's Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the rival Awami League.

Most politicians have stayed quiet over the election delay, anxious not to be caught up in the arrests, but Butenis' comments show patience is running out.

''People want to know when the election is likely to be held,'' the ambassador said.

Bangladesh's army chief, Lieutenant-General Moeen U Ahmed said this week that politicians had given the country nothing but corruption in 36 years since independence.

He had previously said the armed forces did not want to take power but would steadfastly support the interim government in creating conditions for a free and fair election.

The head of the caretaker government, former central bank chief Fakhruddin Ahmed, has said an election would be held as soon as possible, after corruption had been tackled.

Reuters