Bangladesh polls on Dec 18

DHAKA (AFP) - The head of Bangladesh's military-backed administration on Saturday said national elections would be held on December 18 to transfer power to a civilian government.

"The elections commission has taken the decision and informed me that the national elections will be held on December 18," Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed said in a televised address.

"We've started our journey towards transferring power to an elected government through holding a free elections. I believe that the elections will be held in a healthy and spontaneous atmosphere," Ahmed said. Since taking power on January 12, 2007, the government has repeatedly pledged to hold the polls by the end of this year after completing a crackdown on corruption.

Bangladesh has been under emergency rule since that time, when elections scheduled for later that month were cancelled.

The crisis followed months of political unrest over vote-rigging allegations against the outgoing ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Under its anti-graft drive, the interim government has arrested and jailed scores of high-profile politicians on corruption charges.

They include the two most recent prime ministers " Sheikh Hasina Wajed of the Awami League and Khaleda Zia, whose BNP led a coalition government until October 2006. Known as the "battling begums" for their longstanding rivalry, both women still face corruption charges but have been released from custody on bail.

Sheikh Hasina was freed in June and is in the United States for medical treatment " seen as a form of exile " while Zia was released on Thursday. The release of the women was seen as part of a deal with the interim authorities in exchange for their parties' participation in the December polls.

"There is now no confusion over the elections. All parties will contest the elections," Ahmed said, adding the polls would be "credible" because the leaders of the two main political parties had confirmed their participation.

The government has already prepared a digital voters' list with photographs and would do "whatever is needed to hold a transparent and smooth elections including lifting the emergency," he said.

Most political parties had said they would not participate in the elections if they are held under a state of emergency.

However, Ahmed said that "no emergency rules will stand in the way to holding general elections."

Local polls for the country's more than 550 sub-districts would be held after the parliamentary elections, a key demand of the parties. Sheikh Hasina's Awami League party hailed the government for "clearing all the hurdles to elections".

Meanwhile, Bangladesh's two feuding ex-premiers have agreed to meet next month to try to end their decades-long battle before polls slated for December, a lawyer who defended the leaders said Saturday. Rafique ul Haque said he has spoken to both leaders, who have barely spoken to each other since the late 1980s, and both have welcomed the meeting.