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Dhaka: The Bangladesh Awami League led by detained former prime minister Shaikh Hasina has called for parliamentary elections by July, six months ahead of deadline.
Party leaders said the election needed to be advanced to prevent the country from "dipping down further". They blamed the government for failing to address critical public issues, including keeping food prices reasonable.
"They should change the [election] roadmap that set the election to be held before end of this year," said Suranjit Sengupta, a senior Awami leader.
"But the country needs to be saved from further problems and an early election is the possible way to get out of it," he told reporters late on Thursday.
The country's other main political party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by detained former prime minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, is also demanding early elections.
A key government adviser on Wednesday offered to send Khaleda and Hasina abroad for medical treatment, which their parties saw as revival of an earlier plan to send them into exile.
Hasina and Khaleda face trial for alleged corruption and abuse of power. If convicted, they would be barred from contesting the coming polls.
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