Bangladesh's grand electoral alliance led by Awami League (AL) will not join the national election, announced grand alliance leader and AL chief Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday, saying conducive environment for a clean and credible election was not yet created by the caretaker government.

The announcement was made at a press conference attended by alliance leaders including former military dictator and Jatiya Party (JP) Chairman Hussain Muhammad Ershad at the last day for withdrawal of nominations set by the Election Commission (EC) and 20 days away from the planned elections.

Hasina said, "We will not join the election as environment for a free and fair election was not created yet by Iajuddin Ahmed. Keeping Iajuddin as the head of the caretaker government, no election will be clean. We will not go to the polls so long Iajuddin holds the post of chief advisor of caretaker government."

"In the voter list, AL voters were absent. Unless the caretaker government corrects the voter list, we cannot go to the polls," Hasina said.

Hasina said her alliance has already asked its candidates, who have submitted nomination paper to withdraw their candidature by Wednesday.

After daylong meetings on Tuesday, AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil on Tuesday night hinted that the alliance leaders favored in boycotting the election as situation for a free and fail election was not created yet, they did not receive any voter list and President and Chief Advisor Iajuddin Ahmed failed to show his neutrality.

Bangladesh introduced the caretaker government system in the 1996 constitution, which stipulates that a non-party caretaker government will supervise the national election within three months after it takes office.

But Iajuddin is not a non-partisan man as he was chosen as Bangladeshi president by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led four party alliance government.

JP and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which recently joined the AL-led 14-party alliance of Sheikh Hasina, also held meetings separately on Tuesday and decided not to go to the polls. JP leader Kazi Zafar Ahmed said on Tuesday, "JP will not go with polls without Ershad. No Ershad, no election."

Ershad, the former longest serving dictator, was barred by EC from the election as he was convicted by a lower court for three years in prison for scam in Japanese boat purchase case while he was in power since 1982 to 1990.

Political observers here believe that EC's bar on Ershad's participation in the election influenced grand alliance's decision to boycott the election.

Hasina told the press conference that they will announce tougher agitation program to force Iajuddin to go and put pressure on the caretaker government. She urged the leaders and workers of the alliance to make the blockade program on Jan. 7-8 a success. BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan on Wednesday urged the AL-led alliance to participate in the election.

During an interview with the private television channel ATN Bangla, he said " If they don't come to the polls, then we will join the election alone."

Source: Xinhua