Bangladesh needs 'own democracy'

The general was launching a compilation of essays

The chief of the Bangladesh army says the country needs its "own brand of democracy".

Gen Moeen U Ahmed said the country had tried "Westminster-type parliamentary democracy" for the last 15 years and it had not worked.

The general said that in past elections, people had fallen victim to large-scale vote rigging.

The army is the main backer of the country's interim government, which has pledged to hold elections in 2008.

Correspondents say Gen Ahmed's comments are significant because the army will play a key role in determining when exactly the vote takes place.

Speaking at the launch of a compilation of his essays, Gen Ahmed said the country should have "a form of democracy that is suitable for us".

"We have tried to practise Westminster-type democracy for the past 15 years," he was quoted by Bangladesh News 24 as saying.

"In such democracies, the prime minister is equal to other ministers. But what happened here? Everything was with the prime minister."

Correspondents say this is not the first time the general has criticised the system of government that was in place until a military-backed interim administration assumed power at the beginning of last year.

In April last year, he said the country should not go back to being run by an "elective democracy".

He said at that time that democracy in Bangladesh had led to corruption, rights violations and criminalisation, threatening the state's survival.

The government says that it will announce a date for the polls once corruption has been eliminated and up-to-date voter lists are compiled.