Former Bangladeshi military dictator Hussain Mohammad Ershad says his party will not form an alliance with the outgoing ruling party, reversing an announcement he made last week.
Ershad said on Monday that his Jatiya Party will not be joining the four-party coalition led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia ahead of the January election.
He told reporters after a party meeting that the majority of senior party members were against joining any alliance.
Ershad's Jatiya Party was the second largest opposition in the last parliament, and its support would strengthen any alliance it joined.
Ershad's eight-year military rule ended in 1990, restoring a multi-party democracy in Bangladesh. Since then, power has alternated between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Awami League.
An interim government will oversee the January election.
Amir Khasru has more on the story.
