Bangladesh elections on December 29

DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladesh's army-backed authorities on Sunday said the country's polls, set to return power to an elected government, would be held on December 29 in line with demands of the party of ex-premier Khaleda Zia.
Chief election commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda said the new date for the landmark polls, the first in seven years, had been set after consultations with the country's two main political parties. "The ninth parliamentary elections will be held on December 29," Huda said. "We hope this new schedule will be accepted by the country's political parties.
And they will start (their) election campaign in a festive mood from tomorrow," he said. The move is seen as a compromise to ensure the polls are perceived as credible and that all major political parties participate.
A four-party Islamist alliance, led by Zia's powerful BNP, had demanded the delay before they would take part. The right-of-centre BNP-led alliance, which won a two-thirds majority in the last elections in 2001, also wants the interim authorities to lift a state of emergency that has been in place for almost two years.
The BNP's major rival, the left-of-centre Awami League, said through spokesman Syed Ashraful Islam that it was committed to December 18 and was not keen on a delay.
He said the Awami League would announce its position Sunday.