Over 50,000 March In Dhaka To Call For Electoral Reforms
Ankit Gupta - All Headline News Staff Writer Dhaka, Bangladesh (AHN) - More than 50,000 activists marched in the Bangladeshi capital on the sixth and final day of protests to press for electoral reforms ahead of January polls. Chanting slogans such as "no reforms, no polls" and "accept reforms before it is too late," the protesters representing a 14-party opposition alliance began the march from Gabtali, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of central Dhaka. More than 50,000 joined the peaceful march, a senior Dhaka police officer said on condition of anonymity. The marchers burnt an effigy of Chief Election Commissioner M A Aziz. The opposition parties have accused Aziz of being too partisan and said they would not take part in any elections with him at the helm. The parties, led by the main opposition Awami League, started six days of marches across the country on Tuesday, seeking reforms which they say are necessary for free and fair national polls. More than 5,000 police and elite rapid action battalion units were deployed along the route "to prevent any violence or any subversive acts," said Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Police, Kohinur Mia. A series of nationwide bomb blasts linked to a radical Islamic group has plagued Bangladesh since August last year. The blasts killed 28 people, including four suicide bombers.
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