Conditions for free polls not yet in place in Bangladesh, says Jamaat; alleges official bias

Dhaka, Jan 6: Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party has said that the environment for holding a free and fair election in the country is yet to be established, as it accused a section of the interim government of favouring a “particular political party”.

The remarks made during a high-level meeting of Jamaat-e-Islami’s Central Executive Council held in Dhaka on Monday come amid a rapidly shifting political landscape ahead of the high-stakes February 12 general election.

With the Awami League of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina barred from contesting the election under the country’s stringent Anti-Terrorism Act, late premier Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is widely seen as the frontrunner to form the next government.