The Awami League today said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's new government in Bangladesh would complete its five-year term, brushing aside speculation that it would be short-lived due to the opposition's boycott of the violence-marred general election.
"Of course, we're here for five years. You (journalists) please go through the Constitution and then you'll see what's there," Awami League general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam told reporters after the new council of ministers was sworn in at the presidential palace.
In an apparent reference to US disappointment over the polls and its call for "fresh inclusive elections", Islam said Bangladesh was no longer a "bottomless basket case " as dubbed by former secretary of state Henry Kissinger after its independence in 1971, when the US had sided with the erstwhile West Pakistan.
Islam said the next election will be held when "there will be a consensus but the BNP must cut ties with Jamaat-e-Islami and militancy. They'll have to shun the path of destructive politics, too."
The opposition boycotted the January 5 polls, which it described as a farce, after Hasina rejected demands to step down and form a neutral caretaker regime to oversee the election.
The new government takes power amid disappointment expressed by the West over violence during the polls. The US urged the Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party to settle their disputes through dialogue.
Hasina, who became premier for the third time since 1996, said her government would carry on and do everything for the benefit of the people while defying pressure from any quarter.
"You know well Sheikh Hasina does not bow to any pressure whether it is national or international. This country belongs to its people and in their interest, we will do everything required," she said after being sworn in.
Talking to media on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony, US Ambassador Dan Mozena reiterated his country's call for immediate resumption of dialogue and new polls to be contested by all major parties.
"I think the US has spoken very clearly about the election process and it was disappointing because most of the seats were filled without being contested and the others have only token opposition," Mozena said.
Immediately after the polls, India acknowledged the election "as a necessity to fulfil the constitutional obligation" but wanted dialogue between the two major parties to settle disputes in a peaceful manner.
Russia endorsed the polls and expressed its readiness to continue its partnership with the new government.
The international community, including the UN, had expressed disappointment and questioned the credibility of the polls because of a poor turnout and political violence that claimed over 160 lives in the past few weeks.
