British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Friday urged Bangladesh's military backed government to stick by its pledge to lift a state of emergency and hold elections before the end of 2008.
The government in Dhaka, backed by the country's powerful military, has pledged to hold fresh polls by December after cleaning up Bangladesh's notoriously corrupt politics, and has launched a massive anti-graft drive.
"We certainly look forward to the commitment of this government be fulfilled to free and fair elections at the latest by December 2008," Miliband said after talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury.
"A fully functional democracy cannot operate under a state of emergency," Miliband said on his arrival in the South Asian country. Bangladesh's emergency government took power in January 2007, one day after elections were cancelled following months of violence over vote-rigging allegations.
At least 150 top politicians including two former prime ministers have been arrested as part of an anti-corruption crackdown. Dozens of them have been tried and jailed. Miliband will meet the head of the caretaker government Fakhruddin Ahmed on Saturday, and hold more talks with Bangladesh's foreign minister. "What I will be exploring with the minister over the next 36 hours and discuss more widely is how we can ensure as soon as possible Bangladesh becomes a fully functional democracy with all the benefits," he said.
His call came less than a week after a senior state department official of the United States met top officials here and urged early elections and withdrawal of emergency measures.