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Bangladesh

Catholic Church Head Greets New Prime Minister After Return To Democracy

Updated: January 19, 2009 12:47 PM GMT
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The head of the Catholic Church, speaking on behalf of the Christian community, has sent a letter of congratulations to Bangladesh´s newly elected prime minister. ba_dhaka.gifArchbishop Paulinus Costa of Dhaka, president of the Catholic Bishops´ Conference of Bangladesh, faxed a message on Jan. 6 to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed. He offered her their congratulations for winning the Dec. 29 national election "through free and fair elections by an overwhelming majority." Hasina, president of the Awami League party, was sworn in as the country´s new prime minister on Jan. 6 evening, marking a return to democracy after a two-year gap. The country had been under a state of emergency and a caretaker government since January 2007. "We, the Christian community of Bangladesh, prayed for the said ´free-fair-and-credible election´ and we shall still be praying so that Almighty God may guide Your Excellency to lead Bangladesh as a secular and democratic government under your prudent leadership," the archbishop´s message reads. The prelate told UCA News that Protestant Church leaders gave him authority to speak on behalf of the whole Christian community. An Awami League-led alliance secured 262 seats in the ninth national parliamentary election since independence in 1971, beating and alliance of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and three other parties that won 32 of the 299 constituencies. The Awami League won 230 seats. The Jatiya Party (Ershad), one of its allies, won 27 seats while the other two parties in the winning coalition, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and the Workers Party, won three and two seats, respectively. The new government was elected for a five-year term. Hasina previously held the post of prime minister from 1996 to 2001. Archbishop Costa told UCA News Jan. 18 that he sent the message to formally congratulate the new government. "Through a well-accepted election, we got the desired new government after a long period," he said. "We expect that the new government will create more opportunities for us, so that we can continue our services in different sectors, including education and health," he continued. He added his hope that Christian NGOs will have more opportunities to serve the nation under the new government, and said he wished to meet Hasina in person soon. The heads of various countries including India and the United States welcomed the return to the democratic process. European Union and United Nations election observers claimed the election was "credible" and "successful," despite complaints from BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, also a former prime minister, that the election was stage-managed and farcical, and its results not acceptable to her party. Catholics in Bangladesh number 310,000, according to the 2007 Catholic Directory. A Catholic Church official estimates the total number of Christians to be between 400,000 and 500,000. The predominantly Muslim country has a population of about 150 million. END

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