Bangladesh on Friday began correcting its updated voter list to make it flawless and men deputed to do the job started visiting door to door to meet the demand of former main opposition Awami League (AL)-led 14-party combine.

The combine chief AL President Sheikh Hasina, also former prime minister, has been demanding, among others, the flawless voter list and reconstitution of the Election Commission (EC) as the combine and several other international watchdog bodies, including the U.S.-based National Democratic Institute (NDI) alleged that the updated voter list has 12.2 million fake voter in the list.

Bangladesh High Court earlier ordered the EC to update the voter list prepared in 2000, but Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) MA Aziz attempted to make a fresh voter list defying the High Court order and made himself controversial as he was accused of favoring the former ruling party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) headed by former prime minister Khaleda Zia.

Later Aziz was forced to update the voter list of 2000, which the combine alleged it has fake voters and launched a campaign against Aziz saying he should be removed from the EC. The combine leaders said with Aziz and his two other deputies in the EC, no election will be free and fair and as such the combine will boycott the elections.

Aziz's updated voter list had around 93 million voters in the country of 140 million people.

Since the CEC is constitutional post, Bangladesh President Iajuddin Ahmed, who is also head of the caretaker government, cannot sack him unless Aziz leaves the post willingly. President then requested Aziz to go on a three-month leave and Aziz accepted it.

But his two controversial deputies are still in the EC.

Sheikh Hasina, after a meeting with leaders of the combine on Friday, issued a deadline to reconstitute the EC by Saturday, otherwise she said 2 million party activists will lay a non-stop siege around the presidential palace. The alliance wants the deputies of Aziz also to be sent to long leave.

But the BNP leaders opposed removal of one of the deputies of Aziz, if so the party leaders said they will also agitate against it.

Meanwhile, the EC on Thursday revised the election schedule resetting the polls day on Jan. 23.

In Bangladesh, a non-partisan caretaker government supervises the country's general election within three months. The current caretaker government took office on Oct. 29 as the five-year term of the BNP government ran out on Oct. 27.

Source: Xinhua