Four advisers of Bangladesh's interim government resigned yesterday, a surprise move likely to deepen Bangladesh's lingering political crisis threatening next month's election, one of the advisers said.
"Yes, we sent our resignation letters to the president this morning," Women Affairs Adviser Sultana Kamal said.
Akbar Ali Khan, Hasan Mashud Chowdhury and C.M. Shafi Sami also resigned, she said.
The four are among 10 advisers that President Iajuddin Ahmed appointed on Oct. 31 after installing himself as the country's interim leader.
Officials at the president's office were not immediately available for comment.
The four advisers were expected to hold a news conference later in the day to explain their decision, private TV station ATN Bangla reported.
Their move came amid media reports that they disputed the president's deployment of the military late on Saturday to end street protests over electoral reforms.
The move is likely to cheer a 14-party alliance that also rejected the army deployment as an effort to intimidate its supporters.
The alliance will hold street protests across Bangladesh today to press for electoral reforms ahead of next month's general polls, despite the deployment of army troops to keep order, a spokesman said yesterday.
Soldiers patrolled Bangladesh's towns and cities for the second day yesterday after the president called out the military late on Saturday to end weeks of often violent protests, prompting unease over the nation's democratic future.
The alliance, headed by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, said it would continue its campaign for electoral reforms ahead of Jan. 23 elections.
"We plan to hold peaceful protests across the country to press for reforms that will make the upcoming polls free and fair," alliance spokesman Abdul Jalil said. "Our protests are not against the military but against the partisan election officials who must go."
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