Bangladesh: Khaleda Zia demands fresh polls

DHAKA: Bangladesh opposition leader Khaleda Zia urged supporters on Monday to stage fresh protests to try to force new elections, at her first public rally since authorities eased her de facto house arrest.

Zia, a two-time former premier and the arch enemy of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, branded the new government illegal after bloody elections earlier this month that were boycotted by the opposition.

Zia also urged thousands of her supporters rallying in the capital to start a new round of street protests to force Hasina´s new government to hold fresh polls under a neutral caretaker government.

"This government is in power because of gun power, not people´s vote," she told the rally in the capital´s Suhrawardy Udyan park.

"This government is illegal. Hold polls very quickly and test your popularity," she urged it in a speech to the crowd, which police said numbered 35,000.

Zia was placed under virtual house arrest for more than two weeks before the elections, with teams of police standing guard outside her house in a Dhaka neighbourhood -- fearful she would lead rallies and inflame unrest.

She was allowed to leave her home on January 11 to attend a meeting, although authorities have officially denied that she was ever under house arrest. (AFP)