DHAKA, Bangladesh - National elections in emergency-ruled Bangladesh will be delayed by 11 more days, the Election Commission said Sunday, following a former prime minister's demands that the polls be postponed as a condition for her party's participation.Chief Election Commissioner A.T.M. Shamsul Huda announced at a news conference that the parliamentary polls would be held on Dec. 29, after consulting with all major parties. The commission also extended the deadline for filing nomination papers by a week to Nov. 30.
Last week, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia demanded that the elections, which were scheduled for Dec. 18, be moved back by at least 10 days to allow her Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies to choose and prepare their candidates. She had initially threatened to boycott the vote altogether if the emergency measures, in place since January 2007, were not lifted.
Huda made no further comment on whether the measures would be lifted. Earlier he had said that decision was up to the military-backed interim government.
President Iajuddin Ahmed instituted the emergency rule, including canceling scheduled elections, after weeks of violent protests demanding electoral reforms. The interim administration has amended electoral laws and cracked down on rampant corruption, arresting dozens of top politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen. But most of those detained, including Zia and Hasina, are now out on bail or parole.
There was not immediate word on the new date from Zia, or from her main rival, Sheikh Hasina. Hasina's Awami League and its allies had earlier insisted on holding the polls as originally planned.