Bush administration wants open elections in Bangladesh

Bangladesh's military-backed government should lift emergency rule to facilitate open elections that it has promised to hold by the end of the year, a State Department official said Friday.

Richard A. Boucher, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, said Washington will not accept any 'deviation' from the path of a credible vote and establishment of democracy.

'I would expect it (lifting of emergency rule) would happen ... certainly we think that you can't have an open election under strict emergency,' he told a news conference. Read more