| Submit your comments on this article |
| Bangladesh |
| Bangla election by end of 2008 |
| 2007-04-13 |
| Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed yesterday said the ninth parliamentary elections would be held before the end of 2008 as the present caretaker government is committed to handing over power to an elected government. "I would like to categorically state that we [the present caretaker government] will not stay in power a day longer than it is necessary. I strongly believe, it will be possible to hold the much-awaited parliamentary elections before the end of 2008," he said in his second address to the nation since being sworn in as the CA three months ago. The ninth parliamentary elections, previously scheduled for January 22, were cancelled following the declaration of the state of emergency on January 11. The CA said the government and the Election Commission is currently mulling holding upazila elections to make local government more effective. Stressing the government's commitment to fighting crime and corruption, Fakhruddin said, "Our aim is fixed. We want to bring the corrupt, abusers of power and serious criminals within the jurisdiction of existing laws as quickly as possible." "We will show zero-tolerance in this regard," he said. For the time being, there is no alternative but to be patient for resolving problems in the power sector due to years of accumulated corruption and mismanagement, he said. In his 22-minute speech, Fakhruddin presented an overview of the government's activities in the last three months since he was sworn in on January 12, including the government's commitment to holding credible elections, ensuring full independence of the EC, reforming the public administration and finance sector, continue deregulation, and zero tolerance for corruption, abuse of power and crimes. The election laws, rules and procedures would be reformed simultaneously to shorten the period until elections, Fakhruddin said, adding that the EC has already outlined a timeline for preparing a voter list and ID cards with photographs. "We are deeply committed to establishing a sustainable structure to keep muscle-power, money and undesirable elements from influencing not only the next elections, but all long-term elections to ensure that they are free, fair and credible," he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |