The president Thursday declared a state of emergency, stepped down as interim leader of Bangladesh's caretaker government and postponed this month's elections following violent protests by a key political alliance that has said it would boycott the vote. President Iajuddin Ahmed said in a televised speech that the balloting, which had been scheduled for Jan. 22, would be delayed, and he did not give a new date. "It's not possible to hold the elections on schedule. We need a flawless voter list to ensure that the elections are free, fair and credible," Ahmed said. A new voter list had been among the key demands of a major political alliance that has orchestrated paralyzing protests and strikes in recent months, alleging Ahmed's administration favored its rivals and saying it would boycott the vote. Ahmed's removal as head of the caretaker government was the alliance's other main demand. "I've decided to step down as the chief adviser of the caretaker government and I will, in a couple of days, appoint a new interim leader to hold an election in which all parties will be able to participate," Ahmed said in a televised speech.
| "I'm going, I'm going. Don't shoot!" |
Under the constitution, the state of emergency suspends the fundamental rights of citizens. The country's eight private television stations were told by the information ministry to suspend news programming and relay bulletins from state-run television, according to the stations' broadcasts. "The restriction will be effective until further order from the ministry," Khairul Alam Mukul, a news editor at the private NTV television center told The Associated Press.
Indefinite night curfew was imposed for the capital, Dhaka, and more than 60 other cities and towns, state-run TV reported. The curfew will remain in force each night from 11 p.m. until dawn, the station reported, quoting an announcement from the president's office. Troops had already been deployed for election duties.