Election can't be deferred for a day: Hasina
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Jatiya Party (JP) has joined the Awami league-led electoral alliance after a meeting JP chairman Hussain Muhammad Ershad and Awami League (AL) president Sheikh Hasina Tuesday. The meeting started at around 2:30 pm at Hasina's Sudha Sadan home, report bdnews24.com/UNB.
Meanwhile, AL leadership Tuesday said parliamentary elections cannot be deferred for a single day from December 18 for switching over to democracy.
The observation was made during AL president Sheikh Hasina's meetings with Russian Ambassador Gennady Trotsenko and a delegation of US-based National Democratic Institute (NDI) led by Tioulang Saumura and SAM Gejdenson at Sudha Sadan.
After the meetings, Hasina's special assistant Dr Hassan Mahmud told reporters that AL wants election on December 18 as scheduled to switchover to democracy and the scheduled date for the elections cannot be pushed back for a day.
At the Hasina-Ershad meeting, two leaders agreed to contest the upcoming parliament elections from the single platform of a much-talked-about grand alliance and form a coalition government.
Once bitter political foes, Hasina and Ershad aided by their respective party heavyweights reached the election understanding during one-and-a-half-hour meeting at Sudha Sadan in a latest development in the country's baroque political scene.
The two former rulers also agreed on the moot point that the election must be held on December 18, as scheduled.
Their united stand apparently came in direct clash with the stance of another former ruler, immediate-past premier Khaleda Zia of BNP, who Monday night gave the caretaker government a 48-hour ultimatum to concede to her four-party alliance's modified four-point demand that calls for rescheduling the general election for deferment of the date.
Emerging from the crucial talks, JP chairman Ershad told waiting reporters that "we've decided to contest the election from the grand alliance and also to form the next government."
He said they want election on December 18 and hoped all parties would join the fray.
On seat sharing, he said his party and AL would fix it through discussion.
Asked about his aspired presidency-nearly two decades after his unceremonious exit amid a people-power movement-Ershad said there was an agreement (with Hasina) before, but the matter was not discussed at the meeting. It will be discussed later on.
Meanwhile, AL leadership Tuesday said parliamentary elections cannot be deferred for a single day from December 18 for switching over to democracy.
The observation was made during AL president Sheikh Hasina's meetings with Russian Ambassador Gennady Trotsenko and a delegation of US-based National Democratic Institute (NDI) led by Tioulang Saumura and SAM Gejdenson at Sudha Sadan.
After the meetings, Hasina's special assistant Dr Hassan Mahmud told reporters that AL wants election on December 18 as scheduled to switchover to democracy and the scheduled date for the elections cannot be pushed back for a day.
At the Hasina-Ershad meeting, two leaders agreed to contest the upcoming parliament elections from the single platform of a much-talked-about grand alliance and form a coalition government.
Once bitter political foes, Hasina and Ershad aided by their respective party heavyweights reached the election understanding during one-and-a-half-hour meeting at Sudha Sadan in a latest development in the country's baroque political scene.
The two former rulers also agreed on the moot point that the election must be held on December 18, as scheduled.
Their united stand apparently came in direct clash with the stance of another former ruler, immediate-past premier Khaleda Zia of BNP, who Monday night gave the caretaker government a 48-hour ultimatum to concede to her four-party alliance's modified four-point demand that calls for rescheduling the general election for deferment of the date.
Emerging from the crucial talks, JP chairman Ershad told waiting reporters that "we've decided to contest the election from the grand alliance and also to form the next government."
He said they want election on December 18 and hoped all parties would join the fray.
On seat sharing, he said his party and AL would fix it through discussion.
Asked about his aspired presidency-nearly two decades after his unceremonious exit amid a people-power movement-Ershad said there was an agreement (with Hasina) before, but the matter was not discussed at the meeting. It will be discussed later on.