Poll chief asked to step down in Bangladesh

India
Poll chief asked to step down in Bangladesh
By Xinhua, Nov 21, 2006 - 1:29:07 AM

Dhaka, Nov 20 (Xinhua) Uncertainty gripped Bangladesh as President Iajuddin Ahmed sent a message to Chief Election Commissioner M.A. Aziz to step down, and the country braced for another blockade by the 14-party alliance led by the Awami League Monday.

Ahmed, who is also chief of the caretaker government, discussed the political crisis in the country with his 10-member advisory council on Sunday and decided to send a team of advisers to Aziz requesting him to step down from his post, as he had no power to sack him.

Information adviser Mahbubul Alam told mediapersons Monday that the president will request Aziz to resign and bring the political crisis to an end.

But Aziz, who has refused to step down in the past, indicated his firmness to hold onto the post Sunday.

Chief of the Awami League Sheikh Hasina met Ahmed on Sunday and told him that he had failed to prove his 'neutrality' as the chief adviser of the non-partisan caretaker government.

With the failure of Ahmed to meet the demands of the Awami League-led combine, it has enforced the third blockade in the country since October 28.

Demanding the reconstitution of the Election Commission and the removal of Aziz and his three deputies, the combine has accused Aziz of being loyal to the former ruling 4-party alliance led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of Khaleda Zia.

It alleged that the present Election Commission cannot be trusted to hold free and fair parliamentary elections due in January.

The blockades have paralysed the country, bringing to halt all economic activities and shutting down the main seaport.

But Aziz told a group of supporters, 'I am committed to discharging my constitutional responsibilities. Please pray for me so that god will give me the ability to protect the constitution.'

Political observers fear deadly street violence as the student wing of the BNP and its key partner Jamaat-e-Islami are also holding a meeting near the city centre.

The BNP activists said they would stay on the streets to thwart the blockade of the 14-party combine.

Fed up with the continuing deadlock in the country, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Sunday threatened a dharna in front of the office of the president if he failed to break the political deadlock.

They have threatened to take the matter to court if the apparel sector suffered for his failure to restore normal environment for economic activities.

'We urge the president and chief of caretaker government to resolve the political standoff. Otherwise, we will stage a sit-in around Bangabhaban (President House) with our 2.6 million workers,' S.M. Fazlul Haq, president of BGMEA told mediapersons here.

Textile is the largest export earner for Bangladesh, which accounts for 65 percent of the total export earnings and employs 2.6 million workers, 90 percent of whom are poor women.

The BGMEA leaders said a day's shut down causes a loss of about $28.57 million.

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