The Election Commission in Bangladesh has decided to defer the scheduled
parliamentary elections for nine to 11 days to give the BNP led 4-party
alliance an extended time for poll preparation to ensure their participation.
The Commission expects to
announce a fresh schedule today and the new polling date is likely to fall
between December 27 and 29, CEC ATM Shamsul Huda saidon Saturday after holding a crucial dialogue with the
leaders of Awami League-led grand alliance.
The Commission on Friday began
fresh talks with the key players in power politics to reschedule the election
date in a bid to accommodate the BNP-led alliance in the fray.
The Commission however, failed to
build any consensus on the polling date issue as the AL-led grand alliance did
not agree to "shoulder it" which they said a responsibility of the
EC.
The grand alliance leaders,
however, did not make any effort to influence the Election Commission to push
back the scheduled parliamentary election or to hold it on December 18, sources
inside the meeting said.