Dhaka: One of Bangladesh's two main political parties is threatening to boycott the country's first parliamentary elections in seven years just weeks before scheduled December 18 polls.
Leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and two times ex-premier Khaleda Zia made the threat days after the country's army-backed government eased - but did not fully lift - a state of emergency.
"An unacceptable election can deepen the country's crisis. I urge all to shun this path," Zia told reporters after holding a key meeting with her Islamist allies late yesterday.
She said the polls would become invalid if her party did not take part, and the government needed to lift the emergency completely before she could commit.
Party secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain said the current schedule for the December 18 elections would "rubber stamp" a new parliament, and called for the authorities to go back to the drawing board.
Under the emergency, many of the BNP's key leaders are unable to contest polls because they are serving prison terms.
Bangladesh's interim government Monday lifted restrictions on political gatherings and decided to withdraw thousands of troops from emergency duties as part of its promise to hold free and fair elections by the end of the year.
Bangladesh has been ruled by a military-backed government since January last year when months of political turmoil prompted the country's powerful army to cancel polls and impose a state of emergency.
