UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday he has secured assurances from Bangladesh's powerful military that it would not interfere in the country's transition to democracy. Bangladesh has been under a state of emergency since January 2007 when months of political violence led the armed forces to intervene, cancel polls and set up a non-party caretaker government.
The UN chief, who arrived in Dhaka Saturday as part of his four-nation Asian tour, held talks with the country's powerful army chief General Moeen U Ahmed on Sunday and said they discussed the December 18 elections.
"I was assured by military leadership that they will ensure this forthcoming elections will be fair and credible and free elections," Ban told reporters after wrapping up his visit to the South Asian country.
"They will not interfere in any political process," he said.
Ban, who also met the head of the country's interim government and the political leadership, said he saw "no insurmountable" obstacles to the crucial elections.
He urged the country's interim leadership and the political parties to resolve the remaining key dispute over holding the polls under a state of emergency.
"I would hope this will be resolved through dialogue between the authorities and the political parties," he said. "For its part, the government must ensure that the fundamental rights and freedoms necessary for a free, fair and credible election are guaranteed," he added.
The emergency government has pledged that the December elections would be fair as it already pushed through crucial reforms including a photo-based digital voter list with assistance from the United Nations.
But the country's two main parties have demanded that the government lift the state of emergency before the election, saying no polls could be credible under restrictions. On Sunday, the country's commerce minister Hossain Zillur Rahman said the government would lift restrictions on all political activities as soon as authorities announce election schedules. He however did not say when or whether the state of emergency would be lifted.
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