Authorities in Bangladesh agreed on Monday to delay national elections by a week because of Opposition demands for more time to prepare.
Chief Election Commissioner K.M. Nurul Huda said officials decided to shift the date to December 30 in response to the proposals by the Opposition parties.
The new deadline for filing nominations is November 28.
The ruling Awami League party, its allies and some Opposition parties welcomed the decision, but a new major Opposition alliance was unhappy because it wants the elections deferred by a month.
The alliance, called the National Oikya Front, consists of the Khaleda Zia-led Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), among other parties and is headed by prominent lawyer Kamal Hossain. It could pose a major challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s desire to win a third consecutive term.
Sheikh Mujib’s aide
Mr. Hossain was a close aide of independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Ms. Hasina’s father, and now heads a small party, the Gono Forum.
On Monday, five top Opposition leaders met with Ms. Zia in a jail in Dhaka, and said she asked them to contest the polls.
“Madam offered prayers and expressed hope that we will move forward with our unity with the people,” said Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary-general of the BNP.
The December 30 polls would be Bangladesh’s 11th general election since it gained independence in the 1971 war.
