Bangladesh won't lift emergency rule before December polls
Updated
Bangladesh's army-backed interim government says it won't lift the country's state of emergency before holding elections in December.
Local government minister Anwarul Iqbal made the comment a day after a visiting member of the European Parliament called for an end to emergency rule, which was imposed in January last year.
Mr Deva says EU rules won't allow representative observers to be sent to Bangladesh to monitor the polls if a state of emergency is still in place.
But Mr Iqbal says the interim government hopes the EU will change its stance on this occasion.
