Party Chief Prepares Cabinet in Bangladesh

Khaleda Zia began consultations Wednesday to form a new government after her four-party alliance gained a whopping two-thirds majority in parliamentary elections.

Her defeated rival, former Prime Minister Sheik Hasina Wajed, said the tallies of Monday’s balloting were “fake and manipulated,” and she demanded fresh elections. Foreign observers said the election--supervised by a neutral caretaker administration--was free and fair.

Based on unofficial results, the Election Commission announced Wednesday that Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party and allies had won 202 of the 283 seats for which voting was completed. That was one less than state-run television predicted Tuesday.

Results from 16 seats have been delayed because repolling will be needed at 130 centers where violence interrupted the voting.

No date has been set for the repolling, but it must be done before Oct. 15, the deadline for Parliament to approve the new prime minister.

That did not stop Zia from meeting with aides and leaders of her allied Islamic fundamentalist parties to discuss Cabinet seats.

Claiming victory Tuesday, Zia told a news conference that religion would not play a part in her administration. Bangladesh, which is 88% Muslim, is governed by secular laws, and two Islamic fundamentalist parties allied with Zia want to change that.

Hasina’s Awami League trailed with 62 seats, down from the 146 she won in 1996 elections.