DHAKA, Nov 25: Bangladesh swung into election mode on Tuesday after the country’s major political parties pledged to stand in a national poll on Dec 29 to restore democracy to the emergency-ruled country.

The vote, the first in seven years, had been planned for Dec 18 but the caretaker government delayed it in order to secure the support of ex-premier Khaleda Zia’s party.

Khaleda’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Awami League the country’s two main political forces have committed to the new date, which will end almost two years of emergency rule.

BNP spokesman Khandaker Delwar Hossain said his party and its allies had started selecting candidates on Tuesday and would submit their names before the Nov 30 cut-off date.

“We’ll seek nominations from our party officials today,” said Hossain, in the party’s first clear indication it would take part in the polls.

The BNP and its four-party Islamist alliance, which won the last election in 2001, had suspended polling preparations after the government last week said it would not move the elections from Dec 18.

The Awami League, led by another ex-premier and Khaled’s bitter rival Sheikh Hasina Wajed, announced late on Monday it had accepted the new date.

“Our party has decided to participate in the Dec 29 elections. We have accepted the changed date for the greater interest of the nation and for the restoration of democracy,” Awami League spokesman Abdul Mannan Khan said.

Both parties have stepped up pressure on the government to lift emergency restrictions to make the polls free, fair and credible.

General Moeen U. Ahmed, the head of Bangladesh’s powerful army, announced on Tuesday that he would ensure the curbs ended soon.

Commentators said the decision by the two major parties to take part in elections meant the country finally appeared to be on the path to democracy.

“All parties and alliances have accepted the new election timetable. We hope it will end all doubt, confusion and uncertainty over the polls,” Motiur Rahman, editor of leading Bengali language newspaper Prothom Alo, said on Tuesday.

“There is no way elections can face any further delays.” Bangladesh has been ruled by an interim government since January last year, when, after months of political violence between supporters of Khaleda’s ruling BNP and the Awami League, the army stepped in, imposed an emergency and cancelled polls.

Over the past two years the government has pushed through electoral and political reforms, including a crackdown on corruption, which saw both Khaleda and Sheikh Hasina detained for a year on graft charges.

Both women have been released on bail in deals with the government to ensure their parties take part in the elections.

—AFP