DHAKA, Oct. 6, Reuter: Bangladesh’s military President Hussain Mohammad Ershad month’s presidential election in a move to head off opposition ‘campaigns to thwart the polls.
‘Anew martial law order issued by Ershad last night prohibited any campaign prejudicial to the polls and barred newspapers from printing news or views against the election.
Anyone violating the regulations would face a maximum sentence of seven years in prison with hard labour, it said.
Ershad promulgated the regulation only ten days before the Presidential election on October 15 in which he is running as a candidate of the pro-government Jatiya Party.
Opposition leaders said the regulation was another attempt to throttle a popular upsurge against the poll.
Bangladesh’s two major opposition alliances of 15 parties have boycotted the election and threatened that they would try to prevent voters from casting ballots.
They have called for a nationwide general strike on October 15. Leaders of the two groups have said such election would be a “sham show” unless Ershad stepped down and let a caretaker ‘government conduct the pols.
Ershad has said that he would try to ensure fair voting in the election he hope to win by an ‘overwhelming majority.
Information Minister, Anwar Zahid said the Presidential election would be the final step towards democracy.
‘Addressing a meeting of foreign diplomats in Dhaka, he reiterated that martial law would end after parliament passed a bill exempting Ershad from prosecution for actions taken during his four years of military rule.
Ershad needs the bill to avoid possible charges of toppling an elected government in 1982 bloodless coup.
Sheikh Hasina , the Chief of the Eight Party alliance and the staunchest of Ershad, said the election results had already been prepared.
“This is going to be a tango of an election in which a despot is the main dancer,” she told a public rally yesterday.
Her Awami League Party, a ‘major component of the AL, was routed in last month’s parliamentary by election which opposition groups allege were heavily rigged by the government with the help of the military.
Another seven party alliance, headed by Begum Khaleda Zia, described the upcoming polls as “stage managed” and said elections would never be free and fair under Ershad.
Political observe saw the new regulation a sign of Ershad political weakness and said he would not have invoked martial law if he were sure of his popular support.
They said a similar regulation was issued prior to a referendum held in March, 1984, in which Ershad sought popular endorsement to continue as the President until an election.
The referendum results showed 98 percent had voted in favour of Ershad. But the opposition said the military had stuffed ballot boxes after majority voters abstained from voting,
“The experience of the referendum will be repeated in the October 15 election”, Khaleda said.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 10, 1986
