VZCZCXRO8159
PP RUEHCI
DE RUEHKA #0999/01 2661039
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221039Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7423
INFO RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 8609
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 2339
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 9853
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0825
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 1452

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000999 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/PB, SCA/FO, DRL KBERGLUND 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM SOCI PREL ECON BG
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ELECTIONS SET FOR 18 DECEMBER; WILL BE HELD BEFORE 
LOCAL ELECTIONS 
 
SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed announced September 20 that 
parliamentary elections would take place December 18 and Upazila, or 
sub-district (county equivalent), elections would be held later in 
the month.  The Chief Adviser also declared that the State of 
Emergency would be relaxed to allow for increased campaigning.  In 
general, political parties have reacted favorably to the 
announcement, but still have many concerns, most notably regarding 
the State of Emergency.  By agreeing to hold the national elections 
first, the Caretaker Government (CTG) has indicated its willingness 
to compromise with the parties.  Now the onus is on the political 
parties and their leaders to reciprocate. 
 
ELECTION DATES DECEMBER 18, 24, 28 
----------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) In a televised address to the nation in the evening of 
September 20, the Chief Adviser announced that parliamentary 
elections would be held December 18 and that Upazila elections would 
be held in two tranches, on December 24 and 28.  Notably, the 
Caretaker Government made the announcement, not the Bangladesh 
Election Commission (BEC), which unfortunately served to sideline 
and marginalize the Commission's role in the upcoming elections.  In 
his address the Chief Adviser said that both leaders of the Awami 
League and the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) have agreed to 
participate in the upcoming national polls.  The Chief Adviser 
suggested the State of Emergency would not be lifted entirely until 
after elections, though he said it would be relaxed to allow 
political parties to campaign. 
 
PARTIES, BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT REACT POSITIVELY 
-------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) The two major political parties hailed the Chief Adviser's 
announcement of the date of national elections.  Awami League 
leaders welcomed the statement and called on all political parties 
to participate.  They noted that the remaining electoral issues can 
be worked out through a consultative process with the BEC.  BNP 
leaders also welcomed the announcement of the date of national 
elections, but were more critical in their comments, particularly 
with regard to lifting the State of Emergency and Upazila elections. 
 The BNP remains uncommitted to participating in Upazila elections. 
The Caretaker Government recognized the importance of announcing a 
definitive date for the parliamentary elections and noted that 
holding Upazila elections after national elections would help ensure 
participation by all major political parties in the upcoming polls. 
Business leaders also welcomed the speech as it eliminates 
uncertainty regarding the return of a democratically elected 
government, which should encourage greater economic stablity. 
 
CONCERNS OVER LIFTING STATE OF EMERGENCY, UPAZILA ELECTIONS 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (U) The political parties continue to call on the Caretaker 
Government to fully lift the State of Emergency in order to create 
an atmosphere that will allow for free, fair, and credible 
elections.  Awami League Acting General Secretary Syed Ashraful 
Islam noted that elections under a State of Emergency would not be 
acceptable, especially by the international community.  (Note:  The 
Diplomatic Corps and Capitals have not been presenting a unified 
position on the need to fully retract the State of Emergency.  End 
Note.) 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Prior to the Chief Adviser's announcement, all political 
parties had vehemently opposed holding Upazila elections before 
national elections.  While the Caretaker Government has now 
compromised on this point, the parties have complained that the 
dates of the national and Upazila elections are scheduled too close 
together.  There are both questions of the BEC's capacity to manage 
multiple elections schedules as well as political concerns about 
parallel elections campaigns.  Some argue that if Upazila elections 
are not held by January 1, they will need to be further delayed to 
allow time for the yearly update of electoral rolls required to 
register new eligible voters.  This adds to the Government's sense 
of urgency to hold Upazila polls partly on December 24 and partly on 
December 28 to avoid having these non-partisan elections for 
sub-national government posts become wholly politicized.  Clearly 
most political parties would like to delay the Upazila elections 
further in order to ensure that their own local party officials can 
be elected and to have greater influence over that electoral 
process. 
 
COMMENT 
 
DHAKA 00000999  002 OF 002 
 
 
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¶5.  (SBU) The announcement establishing election dates is a positive 
step for Bangladesh.  There will likely be further discussions 
between the parties and the Caretaker Government regarding the State 
of Emergency and Upazila elections.  Thus far, the Caretaker 
Government has made several key concessions to the political 
parties.  It is now up to the parties to show they are prepared to 
behave differently from previous elections, which were marred by 
corruption and violence. 
 
 
Moriarty