Bangladesh opposition calls march to force scrapping of polls

Bangladesh's main opposition BNP party chief Khaleda Zia today asked people across the country to march to the capital on December 29 to force the scrapping of the January 5 polls.
Warning the Awami League-led government not to create any obstacles for the movement she dubbed the "March for Democracy", Zia said the upcoming polls "could be the last nail in the coffin of democracy".
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party is boycotting the polls and political violence during nationwide strikes and blockades enforced by an opposition alliance have left over 100 people dead and crippled the economy since November.
"I urge all able bodied countrymen cutting across their affiliation, religion and class to join the rally on December 29," former premier Zia told a news conference at her office in Gulshan area.

"This (January 5 polls) is a farce, not an election, rather a shameless selection," she said. The BNP would be forced to take "tougher actions" if the government obstructs the marchers, she added.
Zia said there were still scope for negotiations but made the cancellation of the polls a precondition for any talks. "Still there is time and we are ready for talks," she said.

Besides the BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance, a key ally of premier Sheikh Hasina's Awami League party has also boycotted the polls. Hasina, however, insists the vote will go ahead as planned.
The BNP has refused to field candidates, saying polls under Hasina will be rigged - an accusation the premier strongly rejects.

The BNP and its allies have been staging protests since late October to force Hasina to step down so that a non-party caretaker government can be installed to oversee the election.
Hasina has refused to accept the opposition's demands and ruled out any possibility of rescheduling the polls, saying the BNP has "missed the election train".
However, she said she would consider dissolving the parliament formed after the polls and holding another election if the BNP shuns violence and severs ties with the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami.