Ershad free to stand in elections

Gen Ershad's party could hold the balance of power in any election

Bangladesh's former military ruler, Gen Hussein Muhammad Ershad, has walked free from court after a judge ruled that he should not serve a sentence.

The general - who had been convicted in a corruption case - is now eligible to stand in general elections.

He appeared before a court in Dhaka after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal against a two-year jail term.

Gen Ershad seized power in 1982. He has faced numerous trials for corruption, and served five years in jail.

Supporters

A judge in Dhaka on Wednesday ruled that he had already served sufficient time in jail in relation to the latest case, in which he was accused of squandering state funds to buy Japanese patrol boats.

"The judge in his order said that Ershad had served out his term when he was in jail between 1992 and 1996. The judge said he is free to go," the secretary of Ershad's Jatiya party, ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader, told the AFP news agency.

Thousands of supporters of the general's Jatiya Party gathered outside the court to support him.

Gen Ershad was earlier barred from taking part in the elections, which were due to have taken place next week.

But the vote was cancelled after President Iajuddin Ahmed declared a state of emergency following weeks of political unrest.

General Ershad heads the country's third-largest party and in recent years has formed alliances with both the country's two largest parties - the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Awami League.

He is now allied with the Awami League, and correspondents say his party could hold the balance of power after any election takes place.

His Jatiya Party was due to contest 52 out of 300 seats in the country's national parliament.