Amidst fresh political violence that has claimed 19 lives and created uncertainty about the upcoming general election, Bangladesh's Election Commission today said the January 5 polls could be postponed if consensus is forged by the country's feuding political parties.
"Everything is possible if they (political parties) reach a settlement in the people's interest," Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmed told reporters when he was asked if the panel could revise the poll schedule.
Nineteen people have died since Tuesday, when the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies launched a nationwide protest after rejecting the poll schedule.
The 18-party opposition alliance wants the polls to be held under a neutral caretaker government, saying they will not be credible under the multi-party interim set-up headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Hasina told a meeting of her Awami League party today that the elections would be held in due time and urged people to cast their votes for the continued democratic process.
Ahmed said the Election Commission would proceed with its plans to conduct the polls on January 5, 2014. It has also decided to deploy the army to aid the civil administration in maintaining peace during the polls.
"We are yet to fix the date for calling out the armed forces but they are ready to be deployed anytime...Police and other law enforcement agencies are currently putting in their efforts to maintain order," he said after a meeting with senior armed forces and law enforcement officials here.
Ahmed's comments came as the BNP and its rightwing allies overnight extended their nationwide 48-hour blockade for 23 more hours, saying it would now end early on Friday.
"It will now be a 71-hour blockade to be ended at 5 am on Friday," BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told media late last night.
Media reports quoting opposition sources said the BNP and the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami are likely to announce fresh protests on Sunday.
The latest standoff between Hasina's Awami League and the BNP began after the Election Commission announced the poll schedule on Monday.
According to the schedule, December 2 is the last date for submitting nomination papers, meaning the opposition must decide its stance on the polls and nominate candidates in the next three days.
Nearly 50 people are known to have died since October when the opposition launched its latest wave of protest to force Hasina to stand down.
