Bangladesh elections reset for Dec. 29

DHAKA, Bangladesh, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- The Bangladeshi military-backed interim government, agreeing to the demand of one of the main parties, has postponed the country's election date.

The date has been reset from Dec. 18 to Dec. 29. The postponement had been demanded by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh National Party, which said it needed more time to decide whether to participate.

The BNP also has set other conditions.

The other main party, the Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina, another former prime minister and a rival of Zia, also had indicated it plans to participate in the polls but has demanded the immediate withdrawal of the emergency rule.

Awami League spokesman Syed Ashraful Islam said his party accepted the new election schedule "considering the interest of the country and democracy," the Bangladesh Daily Star reported.

The interim government, in power since January 2007, needs to get both the main parties to participate to bring credibility to the polls. The government has promised to make the elections the fairest and most peaceful election in Bangladesh's history, the BBC reported.

Before it became a separate nation in 1971, Bangladesh was the eastern wing of Pakistan. The interim government had imprisoned Zia and her two sons after accusing them of corruption. Zia was later freed on bail.

Sheikh Hasina also had been jailed before she too was freed on bail. She returned to Bangladesh last month after medical treatment in the United States.