Ruling Party of Bangladesh Releases Manifesto for Upcoming Polls

Dhaka:  Awami League chief and Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, today unveiled her party's manifesto for the upcoming parliamentary election, pledging punishment to those who are carrying out anarchy and destruction in the name of political demonstrations.Hasina was unveiling the party manifesto at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital, Dhaka.

"Those who are killing people, carrying out terrorism, destroying mosques and industries, damaging and disrupting rail and road communications, destroying public and private properties, attacking minorities and their place of worships, and felling trees will have to face punishment," said Shiekh Hasina.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her ruling Awami League want to do away with a tradition of introducing a caretaker government to oversee elections.

The opposition,Bangla Desh Nationalist Party(BNP) says it will not participate in the elections unless an interim government is installed and Hasina steps down.

With BNP's boycott, more than half of 300 parliament seats will go uncontested, dimming hopes that an inclusive ballot could restore stability in one of the world's poorest countries.

The European Union and the United States have decided not to send observers to monitor the elections, as most parties are not taking part in the polls.

The crisis has spilled onto the streets, where people are shot, beaten or burned to death daily in clashes between rival groups and police. More than 200 people have died in political violence this year, half of them since November 25, when the Election Commission announced a date for the vote.

 

Source: Reuters