Bangladesh declares state of emergency

The president declared a state of emergency Thursday following weeks of violent protests and threats by a political alliance to disrupt Bangladesh's general elections, his press secretary said.

President Iajuddin Ahmed said a "grave emergency exists in the country threatening public security and its economy," Press Secretary Mukhlesur Rahman Chowdhury said. The president was expected to address the nation on television and radio to explain the step.

The situation raised concern in a country with a history of military rule. Two presidents had been slain and 19 other coup attempts failed in Bangladesh since it gained independence from Pakistan in 1971.

Under the constitution, the state of emergency suspends the fundamental rights of citizens.

The country's eight private television stations were told by the information ministry to suspend news programming and relay bulletins from state-run television, according to the stations' broadcasts.

"The restriction will be effective until further order from the ministry," Khairul Alam Mukul, a news editor at the private NTV television center told The Associated Press.

Indefinite night curfew was imposed for the capital, Dhaka, and more than 60 other cities and towns, state-run TV reported. The curfew will remain in force each night from 11 p.m. until dawn, the station reported, quoting an announcement from the president's office.

Troops had already been deployed for election duties.

The South Asian nation has recently been crippled by a series of strikes and blockades orchestrated by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her 19-party alliance that opposes the Jan. 22 election. The alliance plans a series of new strikes and blockades starting Sunday.

Hasina's alliance alleged that Ahmed's interim government, charged with holding the polls, favors her arch rival, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. The alliance demands Ahmed's resignation and a delay in the election to allow for reforms.

It has claimed that the voters' list for the election has flaws, including fake names. Other demands include the use of transparent ballot boxes and the removal of about 345 field-level election officials allegedly biased toward Zia.

Last month, the U.S.-based National Democratic Institute's Dhaka office said in a report that 10 million names on the current voting list were "errors" or duplications _ representing 13 percent of the country's 93 million voters.

The United Nations and the European Union election observation mission in Bangladesh have suspended election-related activities and support for the South Asian nation, citing lack of legitimacy of the balloting.

The European Union on Thursday recalled election observers from Bangladesh while the U.N. suspended all technical support for Bangladesh's polls, including its International Coordination Office in Dhaka.

"The political crisis in Bangladesh has severely jeopardized the legitimacy of the electoral process," U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said Wednesday in New York.