Ex-Bangladesh PM leads fresh protests

Bangladesh's former prime minister Khaleda Zia led a six-hour fast in the country's capital Wednesday to protest against changes in the electoral system that have led to violent demonstrations. Zia -- a bitter rival of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina -- led nearly 5,000 activists and officials of her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and allies in central Dhaka, local police chief Rezaul Karim said. Karim said the protests were peaceful amid tight security, with Zia and BNP officials sitting on a dais while activists chanted anti-government slogans. In 1996, the Bangladesh constitution was amended to appoint neutral caretaker administrations to oversee elections. The system delivered four fair elections in a country with a long history of political violence, but it was scrapped last month after the government said it had allowed the army to take over power in January 2007. The BNP and its allies have enforced a series of recent nationwide strikes since the announcement, claiming that the changes will unfairly favour the incumbent government. Scores of people including BNP's chief whip in the parliament have been injured and dozens of buses have been torched in clashes between opposition activists and the police during the strikes. Zia, who was Bangladesh prime minister in 1991-96 and 2001-6, has said her right-of-centre party would not contest future polls unless the caretaker system is reintroduced. The next general elections are due in the first quarter of 2014. The government has said they could be held under an independent election commission months before its tenure expires.