Bangladesh opposition party rallies to demand a new election

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Thousands of activists and leaders of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Tuesday rallied in the nation’s capital to demand a democratic transition through an election as an interim government has yet to outline a timeframe for new voting.

The supporters gathered in front of BNP headquarters in Dhaka, where they chanted slogans demanding a new election.

The interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has rolled out a number of plans to reform various sectors of the country, from the Election Commission to financial institutions. But major political parties — including the BNP, which is headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia — want the new election sometime soon.

Yunus took the helm after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country during a mass uprising last month, ending a 15-year spell in power. The protests began in July and morphed into an anti-government movement. Hasina has been living in India since.

In his recent speeches, Yunus hasn’t outlined when a new national election would be held and said they would stay in power as long as the people want them to stay. A team of newspaper editors recently said that Yunus should complete crucial reforms first and stay in power for at least two years.

The BNP initially demanded an election in three months, but later said it wants to allow the interim government time for reforms. The country’s main Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party, which was once officially an alliance partner under Zia’s party, also wants to give the Yunus-led government more time before an election.

Tarique Rahman, heir apparent to Zia and the BNP’s acting chairman, spoke online from London where he has been living in exile since 2008. He said