Hasina hints at early elections

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina hinted broadly yesterday that she could hand over power after Independence Day on March 26.

"We want to celebrate Independence Day in a big way, then it will depend. Of course we have time till July. But when the time arrives, we will call elections," she told a correspondent at a crowded press conference at her official residence.

Asked to comment on the current dispute between the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commissioners, Hasina said the Election Commission is totally independent, and disputes should be settled among themselves, the government did not want to intervene.

"We want an effective Election Commission and the smooth conduct of elections".

Without naming the BNP and the Jatiya Party, Hasina said two major opposition parties had been floated by military dictators who did not care about the constitution and democracy.

Hasina said although the Election Commission could hold some local body and parliamentary by-elections, it could not hold the Upazila ( district) polls. If these could be held, local government institutions would have been strengthened and development accelerated at the grassroots level.

On former president H.M. Ershad, she said the case against him had been filed when the BNP government was in power and the trial also held during its rule, but now the BNP leader, Khaleda Zia, was seeking his release.

On the extradition of the condemned killers of the Bangabandhu, Hasina said efforts were continuing to bring them back to justice.

In reply to a question about law-and-order, the prime minister admitted frankly that this was the only area where the problem still existed despite there being a trend of improvement.

On the issue of constant traffic jams in the capital, Hasina said the number of vehicles on the roads had increased manifold, but the previous government had undertaken no long-term plan to construct alternative roads or networks to control the flow of traffic.

She said her government had a plan to set up a new administrative city near the eastern bypass, which she thought would ease the problem.

Hasina categorically emphasised that Bangladesh would not tolerate any terrorist or secessionist movement on its soil. "Bangladesh believes in peace and we will not allow our soil to be used by terrorists," she told a correspondent.

When her attention was drawn to India's move to seal off its border with Bangladesh and Myanmar, Hasina said all these issues, including the ratification of the Mujib-Indira treaty by India, would be discussed at a Foreign Secretary level meeting in New Delhi.

She said that only 6.5 km of the 150 km border with India needed to be demarcated.