Bangladesh parties plan to curb leaders' powers

DHAKA, June 19 (Reuters) Bangladesh's two major political parties, under pressure over charges of corruption and abuse of power, have finalised a set of internal reforms aimed at curbing the powers of the party chiefs, leaders said today.

The move comes amid a nationwide crackdown on corruption launched by the country's military-backed interim administration in which more than 170 political figures from both the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have been detained.

''The chiefs of political parties should behave democratically.

Every decision should be taken with the consent of majority of the party,'' said Suranjit Sengupta, a senior leader of the Awami League led by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Both Hasina and another former prime minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, who leads the BNP, have wielded absolute power in their parties.

The two leaders also face charges of extortion and murder relating to street violence late last year.

''The party leaders who ignored corruption done by their colleagues while in power, should accept the responsibility and step down from the posts,'' said Mahbubur Rahman, a senior leader of BNP, who is pushing for party reforms.

Reformists in the Awami League have proposed that party decisions including financial matters should be discussed and passed with the consent of the majority.

''The party should also be transparent in financial matters.

Collection of funds through donations and expenses should be audited, regularly,'' Tofayel Ahmed, a senior leader of Awami League told reporters.

''This is the only way to stop unscrupulous people.'' Bangladesh is now run by an army-backed interim government headed by former central bank governor Fakhruddin Ahmed, who has vowed to clean up politics from corruption before holding a free and credible election around end of next year.

The interim authority cancelled an election earlier planned for January 22 and banned all political activity.

Hasina and Khaleda say they are being unfairly targeted and are innocent.

Their supporters said the reforms in the parties were being carried out under pressure from the interim administration.

REUTERS JK KN1721