November 19, 2008	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 20, 1429

DHAKA, Nov 18: Bangladesh's army-backed government held crisis talks with political leaders on Tuesday in an effort to get the schedule for next month's elections back on track.

Two times ex-premier Khaleda Zia, who heads a four-party Islamist alliance, issued an ultimatum Monday for the government to meet four demands before she will take part in the polls, which will return the nation to democratic rule.

Khaleda wants the government to lift emergency rule and has asked for a new timetable for the Dec 18 vote.

Five ministers of the country's emergency government met with Khaleda late Tuesday, and were also scheduled to meet with her bitter rival Sheikh Hasina Wajed, also an ex-premier.

Sheikh Hasina has committed her party, the Awami League, to going to the polls and any change in date would need her blessing.

Following the meeting with Khaleda, commerce minister Hossain Zillur Rahman said he and his ministerial colleagues discussed “key issues” with Khaleda.

Spokesman for Khaleda and her allies, Khandaker Delwar Hossain, said the government and his parties had “made progress.”

Analysts said the demands by Khaleda, also the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) which led the alliance to a two-thirds majority in the last polls in 2001, have put the elections in jeopardy.

While Khaleda was seeking a delay in the polls and an immediate withdrawal of the emergency, Sheikh Hasina has demanded the polls be held as per the declared schedule.

The army-backed government, in power since the emergency was imposed in January 2007, plans to restore democracy in the impoverished South Asian nation by the end of the year.

The current regime stepped in after a row over election fraud between the BNP and the Awami League, led to widespread unrest.

The government has pushed through key electoral and political reforms including a crackdown on corruption, which saw Khaleda and Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina Wajed detained for a year on graft charges.

Both have been released on bail in deals with the government to ensure they take part in the elections.—AFP