Dhaka, January 11
Bowing to pressure from the Awami League-led major alliance, President Iajuddin Ahmed today stepped down as head of Bangladesh’s interim government and postponed the controversial general elections scheduled for January 22 soon after declaring a state of emergency.In an address to the nation, Ahmed said he had quit as head of the interim government to “pave the way for an acceptable election to be participated in by all political parties”.
Official sources said the elections were postponed and no fresh dates had been set for the poll. The voters’ list would be corrected during the emergency, they said.
Indefinite curfew has also been imposed in Dhaka and other district headquarters from 11 pm to 5 am and the right to stage “all kinds of” rallies and street marches have been suspended, the spokesman said.
The fast-paced developments came as violence loomed in the wake of the decision by the alliance, led by Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina, to stay away from the elections and organise nationwide street protests to press for the removal of Ahmed as head of the interim goverment to ensure free and fair poll.
The alliance has decided to organise street protests and lay siege to the Presidential Palace to force the government to postpone the elections and carry out electoral reforms.
The United Nations and the European Union suspended the monitoring duties of their observers, saying the political crisis had jeopardised the legitimacy of the poll. The UN also threatened to remove the Bangladesh Army from peacekeeping duties if it mobilised to support the polls.
All nine other advisers of the 10-member interim government also tendered their resignations, a presidential palace spokesperson said.
The senior most member of the interim government, Supreme Court Justice Mohammad Fazlul Haque, took over as its acting chief.
— PTI
